Unlinked Cases Reported on 23 May Are 2 Homemakers & A Construction Worker Who Lives in A Dorm

I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that the number of unlinked cases has fallen drastically.

The bad news is that we now have: a new cluster, a new infection in a dormitory since 1 May, and even more infections linked to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) after several days without new additions.

Reader: Sounds like there’s way more bad news than good news. 

Welcome to the COVID-19 pandemic, dear reader. 

In total, 22 locally-transmitted infections were reported yesterday (23 May). Here are the details.

Unlinked Cases Include 2 Homemakers & A Construction Worker Who Lives in A Dorm

The number of unlinked cases went down to three yesterday, the only positive statistic of the day.

They include two homemakers and our first infection in a dormitory since 1 May.

The dorm resident is a 46-year-old Malaysian man who works as a construction worker at H&W Communications. He resides at Harvest @ Woodlands at 280 Woodlands Industrial Park E5.

He is asymptomatic, and his infection was detected when he was tested on 22 May as part of Rostered Routine Testing (RRT), which came back positive.

His earlier tests from RRT—the last being on 8 May—all returned negative for COVID-19 infection. His serology test result is negative, suggesting a recent infection.

One of the homemakers is a 60-year-old Singaporean who is a resident of Block 506 Hougang Avenue 8. She was tested as past of the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) testing operations for residents there, and her result came back positive, even though she’s asymptomatic.

She received her first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on 29 March and the second dose on 19 April.

The other homemaker is a 74-year-old Singaporean who developed body aches, vomiting, and chills on 19 May, and sought medical treatment at a GP clinic on the same day.

She wasn’t tested for COVID-19, however, as she did not report any acute respiratory infection symptoms.

Her condition deteriorated on 22 May, and she was conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) where she was tested for COVID-19.

Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on the same day. Her serology test result is pending.

The 74-year-old received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 20 April and the second dose on 11 May.

JEM/Westgate Cluster

A new cluster at JEM/Westgate has formed after four new infections were linked to it.

They are:

• A 39-year-old female Malaysia national who is employed by Eng Leng Contractors Pte Ltd as a cleaner at Westgate shopping mall
• A 59-year-old male Singaporean who works as a music teacher at Yamaha Music School
• A 31-year-old male India national who works as a delivery truck driver at YHI Corporation Pte Ltd
• A 44-year-old male India national who works at BlackRock Advisors Singapore Pte Ltd

The 59-year-old Singaporean developed a fever on 16 May but did not seek medical treatment until 21 May when he went to a GP clinic and was tested for COVID-19.

He underwent an antigen rapid test (ART), which came back positive on the same day, and he was immediately isolated.

He was then given a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which came back positive as well.

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

Of the four cases, two have tested preliminarily positive for the B1617 variant, and are pending further confirmatory tests.

Changi Airport Terminal 3 Cluster

Just as our love for bubble tea, it seems that the cluster at Changi Airport Terminal 3 will never stop growing.

Three new cases were linked to the cluster, namely:

•  A 7-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at St Stephen’s School and was last in school on 12 May
• A 45-year-old male Philippines national who is an engineer at STMicroelectronics Pte Ltd, and was last at work on 8 May
• A 67-year-old female Singaporean who is employed by Hong Ye Group Pte Ltd as a cleaner at Changi Business Park

The 7-year-old is a family member of two previous cases: a homemaker who visited Changi Airport Terminal 3, and an 11 year-old male Singaporean who is a student at St Stephen’s School.

The 7-year-old was placed on quarantine on 12 May. When tested during quarantine on 14 May, his result came back negative.

However, he developed a fever on 21 May and was tested for COVID-19 again, and this time he was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive. His serology test result is pending.

Marina Bay Sands Casino Dealer Cluster

Another infection has also been linked to the 36-year-old dealer who tested positive at the Marina Bay Sands Casino.

She is a 32-year-old Singapore Permanent Resident (PR) who works as a hairdresser at 98 Hair House Pte Ltd. She was last at work on 17 May.

She developed a fever, cough, and sore throat on 19 May and sought medical treatment at a GP clinic on the same day, where she was tested for COVID-19.

Her result came back positive on 22 May. Her serology test is pending.

McDonald’s Delivery Riders Cluster

The COVID-19 cluster linked to the McDonald’s delivery rider who works at the Pasir Ris Elias Community Centre (CC) outlet had two more cases added to it yesterday.

They are:

• A 31-year-old male China national who works as a delivery rider for McDonald’s (Pasir Ris Elias CC)
• A 27-year-old male Malaysia national who works as a delivery rider for McDonald’s (Pasir Ris Elias CC)

The 27-year-old is a workplace contact of two previous cases. He developed a headache and fatigue on 18 May and was placed on Leave of Absence (LOA) by his employer on 21 May.

He was placed on quarantine on the same day, and tested for COVID-19 as well.

He did not report his symptoms, however.

He developed a cough on 22 May, and his test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection the same day. His serology test result is pending.

Sms Infocomm Cluster

Another community case has been linked to the Sms Infocomm cluster. She is a 27-year-old female Singaporean who works in an administrative role at St Luke’s Hospital. She was last at work on 12 May.

She was placed on quarantine on 19 May, after being identified as a family member and household contact of a previous case.

She developed a fever, sore throat, blocked nose, and anosmia (loss of smell) on 20 May, and was tested for COVID-19 on 21 May during quarantine.

Her test result came back positive the next day, and her serology test result is negative for the N antigen, which suggests an early infection.

The woman completed her vaccination regimen on 25 February, having received her first dose of on 29 January.

TTSH Ward 9D Cluster

After several days of no new infections linked to the TTSH cluster, most of us thought the cluster might close soon.

Nope. 

Another community case has been linked to the cluster, namely a 78-year-old female Singaporean.

The homemaker is a family member and household contact of a previous case and was placed on quarantine on 8 May.

When she was tested for COVID-19 on 9 May, her test result came back negative.

Then, she was tested again on 21 May even though she is asymptomatic, and this time her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection. Her serology test result is negative.

4 Clusters Have 1 New Infection Each

Four other cluster linked to previous cases had one more infection added to their list. They are:

• A 4-year-old female Singaporean who is a student at Heart Field Kindergarten and had last gone to school on 12 May (Case 63236 cluster)
• A 41-year-old male Singaporean who works as a manager at Sure Clean Pte Ltd, and was last at work on 12 May (Case 63304 cluster)
• A 48-year-old male Singaporean who is self-employed and works from home (Case 63392 cluster)
• A 38-year-old male Myanmar national who works as an engineer at Asia Medical Enviro Services Pte Ltd and had last gone to work on 19 May (Case 63479)

The 4-year-old was placed on quarantine on 14 May after being identified as a close contact of a previous case.

She developed a fever on 19 May but her symptom was not reported to the health ministry.

He infection was only detected after she as tested on 21 May during quarantine. Her result came back positive the next day. Her serology test result is pending.

Other Cases With Known Links

In addition, there were three other cases with established links to previous cases. They are:

• A 29-year-old female Indonesia national who is a foreign domestic worker
• An 84-year-old female Singaporean who is a homemaker
• A 52 year-old male Singaporean who works as a delivery driver at RichLand Logistics Services Pte Ltd

3 Imported Cases

Besides the 22 locally-transmitted infections, there were three cases from abroad. They are:

• 2 Singapore PRs who returned from India
• 1 Work Permit holder who arrived from Malaysia

They had all been placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore.

242 Cases Currently in Hospitals

At the moment, there are 242 confirmed cases in hospitals, of whom most are stable or improving. 3 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Another 256 with lower risk factors and mild symptoms are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

17 more cases were discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities recently.

Feature Image: Google Maps