555 COVID-19 Cases Reported on 11 Sep; New Cluster at Chinatown Complex with 66 Cases

Last Updated on 2021-09-15 , 11:47 am

A couple of days ago, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong gave a rather prescient prediction for the future.

“Very soon, we will reach 1,000 cases a day. And in a few weeks’ time, we will probably get to 2,000 new cases a day,” he said in a press conference held by the COVID-19 task force.

It seemed crazy at the time, but with every passing day, his prediction is looking more and more accurate.

550 New Locally Transmitted Cases; 486 From the Community

550 new locally transmitted infections were detected yesterday, of whom 486 were from the community.

As high as the number of local infections is, it was slightly lower than the previous day’s tally of 568, giving us a respite after five consecutive days of increases.

145 of the community cases are patients over the age of 60.

Five imported infections were reported as well, taking the day’s tally to 555.

Two Large Clusters Identified at Preschool & Shopping Mall

As you know, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will only report new clusters that are large.

Yesterday, they identified two new large clusters.

The first is at PCF Sparkletots Braddell Heights, located at 335 Serangoon Avenue 3. With three new cases, it now has a total of 22 cases. The virus spread among students in the same class, and later spread to household contacts of cases.

The other cluster, at Chinatown Complex, already has 66 cases. There is ongoing workplace transmission at the mall, MOH said, infecting 58 stallholders and assistants, four cleaners, one safe distancing ambassador, and three household contacts of workers.

Free Testing For Those Who Visited Chinatown Complex

If you had checked into Chinatown Complex from 8 Sep to 11 Sep with SafeEntry, you can expect to receive a health risk alert (HRA).

Those who receive HRAs are not legally obliged but are still strongly encouraged to go for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test as soon as possible. They should also reduce their social interactions for 14 days.

As for those who visited the mall during the specified dates but didn’t receive an HRA, free testing will be offered to them as well. You can tap here for booking details.

These visitors are also advised to monitor their health closely and minimise social interactions as far as possible for 14 days from their date of visit.

As always, if you feel unwell, do see a doctor immediately.

Chinatown Complex Closed

To break any potential chain of transmission and enable deep cleaning of the premises, MOH said, Chinatown Complex will be closed to all members of the public from 12 September to 15 September 2021.

All staff working at Chinatown Complex are also being tested for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, MOH is investigating how the virus spread in the cluster.

Other Clusters Grow

In total, MOH said it’s monitoring 14 large clusters where new cases were detected.

These include six of eight active clusters linked to bus interchange staff, namely:

• Toa Payoh Bus Interchange staff – six new cases, 210 in total
• Tampines Bus Interchange staff – seven new cases, 68 in total
• Boon Lay Bus Interchange staff – 11 new cases, 179 in total
• Jurong East Bus Interchange staff – two new cases, 47 in total
• Clementi Bus Interchange staff – three new cases, 58 in total
• Punggol Bus Interchange staff  – two new cases, 44 in total

The health ministry said that transmission has occurred at the workplace amongst bus captains and interchange staff and that there’s no evidence of spread to commuters.

In addition, the Bugis Junction cluster grew as well; with five new cases, it now has 313 infections in total.

Three new cases were also linked to the Changi General Hospital cluster, bringing its total to 67.

708 COVID-19 Cases in Hospital; 7 in ICU

At the moment, there are 708 COVID-19 cases in hospitals, most of whom are well and under observation.

35 severe cases require oxygen supplementation and seven are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Of these 42 cases, 33 are patients above the age of 60.

Our vaccination progress remains at 81%, while the percentage of people who have received at least one dose is still 83%.

Understand more about vaccination here:

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