Unlinked COVID-19 Cases Reported on 17 May Include Fully Vaccinated NSF & 2 SP Students

On Sunday (16 May), many residents reported hearing what sounded like a tornado outside their homes.

We later learned that this was just the entire nation gasping at once after learning that 38 COVID-19 community cases were recorded that day.

Yesterday (17 May), community infections fell to 21, but a new cluster has formed, and more students have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Here are the details.

Marina Bay Sands Casino Dealer Cluster

The new cluster was formed after another infection was linked to the dealer at Marina Bay Sands who was one of the community cases reported on Sunday (16 May).

The new case is a 34 year-old male Malaysia national who is currently unemployed. He is a household contact of the dealer.

He developed a fever and cough on 12 May, and sought medical treatment at a GP clinic on 15 May, where he tested positive in an antigen rapid test (ART).

He was immediately isolated and underwent a PCR test, which came back positive the next day.

He has tested preliminarily positive for the B1617 variant, and is pending further confirmatory tests.

His serology test result is also pending.

Changi Airport Terminal 3 Cluster

Our largest active cluster at Changi Airport Terminal 3 continues to grow as three more community infections have been linked to it.

They are:

• A 37 year-old female Indonesia national who is a foreign domestic worker and is a household contact of two previous cases
• A 63 year-old female Singaporean who is a homemaker and is a family member and household contact two previous cases
•  An 8 year-old male Singaporean who is a student at Fuchun Primary School

The 8-year-old primary school student is a family member and household contact of a software engineer at ST Engineering who was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive on 12 May. The boy was placed on quarantine on the same day.

He is asymptomatic, and his infection was detected when he was tested for COVID-19 on 15 May during quarantine.

His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 16 May. His serology test result is negative.

Learning Point Cluster

There are also two more infections in the community linked to the Learning Point tuition centre cluster.

They are:

• A 72 year-old male Singaporean who is a retiree and family member of a previous case
• A 7 year-old female Singaporean who is a student at Maha Bodhi School

The 7-year-old was placed on quarantine on 14 May after being identified as a close contact of another student who attended classes at Learning Point and tested positive on 13 May.

She developed a fever on 15 May and was tested for COVID-19 on the same day. Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection the next day. Her serology test result is negative.

The young girl also attends student care at Seedlings World Student Care @ Frankel.

WOK HEY (White Sands) cluster

The WOK HEY cluster at White Sands had one more infection added to it after a 62 year-old male Singaporean tested positive yesterday.

The retiree is a family member and household contact of three previous cases, one of whom works as a cook at WOK HEY.

He was placed on quarantine on 13 May after being identified as a close contact of the previously reported cases.

On 16 May, the man developed a fever, cough, and flu, and was tested for COVID-19 when he reported his symptoms.

His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 17 May. His serology test result is pending.

2 Other Cases With Known Links

The remaining two cases with known links are a foreign domestic worker and an engineer at 3M Innovation Singapore Pte Ltd.

The foreign domestic worker is a 36 year-old female Philippines national who is a close contact of a previous case. She was placed on quarantine on 14 May after being identified.

She developed a fever, cough, and sore throat the next day and reported her symptoms. She was tested for COVID-19 that day and was confirmed to be positive on 16 May.

Her serology test result is negative, indicating a recent infection.

The engineer is a 57 year-old male Singaporean who is a family member and household contact of a previous case.

He developed a fever on 16 May and was tested when he was informed that his family member was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection.

He underwent an ART and PCR test, both of which came back positive for COVID-19 infection.

His serology test result is pending.

The man received his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on 30 April.

11 Unlinked Cases Include Fully Vaccinated NSF & 2 SP Students

The remaining 11 cases in the community are currently unlinked. They are:

• A 26 year-old female Singaporean who is a student at the National Institute of Education (NIE), and a part-time private tutor
• A 76 year-old female Singaporean who is a retiree
• A 57 year-old female Singaporean who works as an administrative personnel at Pacific Law Corporation
• A 22 year-old female Singaporean who works at Invade Industry Pte Ltd
• A 28 year-old male Singaporean who works as a retail assistant at Alan Photo Pte Ltd located at Funan Mall
• A 45 year-old female Indonesia national who is employed by Clean Hub Facility Pte Ltd as a cleaner at EuHabitat
• A 47 year-old female Singaporean who works at Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
• A 37 year-old female Singaporean who is a teacher at Frontier Primary School
• A 16 year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who is a student at Singapore Polytechnic (SP)
• A 32 year-old male Singaporean who works as an IT engineer at AbbVie Operations Singapore Pte Ltd, who is also a part-time learner at SP
• A 20 year-old male Singaporean who is a full-time National Serviceman (NSF)

The NSF developed a runny nose on 12 May but did not seek medical treatment until 16 May when he also developed a cough.

He was tested for COVID-19 that day and his test result came back positive on 17 May.

His serology test result is pending. The NSF completed his vaccination regimen on 8 April, having received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 18 March.

To know more about vaccines in Singapore, watch this video to the end:

The two SP students who tested positive include the 16-year-old Singapore permanent resident (PR) and the IT engineer at AbbVie Operations Singapore Pte Ltd who’s enrolled as a part-time adult learner at SP.

The Singapore PR developed a fever, sore throat, headache, and anosmia (loss of smell) on 14 May, and sought medical treatment at a GP clinic on the same day, where he was tested for COVID-19.

His result came back positive on 16 May and his serology test result is pending.

He has tested preliminarily positive for the B1617 variant, and is pending further confirmatory tests.

The 32-year-old engineer, meanwhile, developed a fever, headache, cough, and body aches on 15 May.

He sought treatment the next day, where he tested positive for his antigen rapid test (ART).

He was immediately isolated and underwent a PCR test on the same day. He was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive later that day. His serology test result is pending.

7 Imported Cases

7 of the cases yesterday came from abroad. All had been placed on SHN upon arrival in Singapore.

They are:

• 2 Singaporeans who returned from India and Malaysia
• 3 Dependant’s Pass holders who arrived from the Philippines and Russia
• 1 Student’s Pass holder who arrived from France
• 1 Work Permit holder who arrived from Malaysia

213 Cases in Hospitals

213 COVID-19 cases are currently in hospitals, most of whom are stable or improving. Three are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Another 246 with mild symptoms and lower risk factors are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

As you probably would have guessed, the number of new community infections has increased, shooting up to 149 in the past week from 32 cases in the week before

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from 7 in the week before to 42 in the past week.

If there was ever a good time to be a stickler for the rules, it would be now.

Feature Image: Facebook (Singapore Polytechnic)