Unlinked Cases Reported on 24 May Are An Engineer & A Property Agent

It’s been over a week since Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) kicked in, but we’re still not doing too well.

In fact, the number of community cases has increased over the last week—the number has gone up from 149 cases in the week before to 185 cases in the past week.

Yesterday (24 May), 24 community infections were reported. Here are the details.

Unlinked Cases Reported on 24 May Are An Engineer & A Property Agent

Fortunately, the number of unlinked cases seems to be going down, since only two were reported yesterday.

The first is a 31-year-old male India national who works as an engineer at Hiap Seng Engineering Ltd.

He developed body aches on 17 May, and sought treatment at a General Practitioner (GP) clinic on 17 May and 18 May, but was not tested for COVID-19 as he did not report any acute respiratory infection (ARI) symptoms.

On 19 May, he developed a runny nose and loss of smell and taste in the evening. He sought treatment at another GP clinic the next day, and was tested for COVID-19. He was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive on 23 May.

His earlier tests from Rostered Routine Testing (RRT)—the last being on 10 May—were all negative for COVID-19 infection. His serology test result is negative.

The other unlinked case is a 31-year-old male Singaporean who works as a property agent with ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd.

He developed a cough on 22 May, and sought medical treatment at a GP clinic on the same day, where he was tested for COVID-19.

His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 23 May, and he developed a sore throat on the same day. His serology test result is negative.

Jem/Westgate Cluster

The Jem/Westgate cluster, a new cluster that emerged on 23 May, continues to grow, as six more cases were linked to it.

They are:

• A 19-year-old female Malaysia national who is a student at Singapore Polytechnic; she had visited Westgate on 8 May, 10 May, and 11 May
• A 20-year-old female Malaysia national who is a student at Singapore Polytechnic; she had visited Westgate on 10 May
• A 44-year-old female Singaporean who works as an administrative staff at ST Electronics (Jurong East)
• A 49-year-old male Malaysia national who works as a delivery personnel at AST Logistics Pte Ltd, and frequently delivered goods at Westgate
• A 24-year-old female Singaporean who is currently unemployed
• A 21-year-old male Singaporean who works a waiter at Pizza Hut at Westgate

The 19-year-old is a family member and household contact of a previous case. She developed a fever on 18 May but did not seek medical treatment until 19 May when she went to a GP clinic and was tested for COVID-19.

She was placed on quarantine on 22 May after being identified as a close contact of a previous case.

The 19-year-old was tested for COVID-19 on 23 May during quarantine, and her test result came back positive the same day. Her serology test result is pending.

To break any potential chain of transmission and enable deep cleaning of the premises, Jem and Westgate shopping malls have been closed to all members of the public from 23 May and will re-open 14 days later on 6 June 2021, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.

MOH has also conducted special testing operations for staff who work at both premises and offered free COVID-19 testing for members of the public who had visited Jem and Westgate from 10 May to 14 May.

Now, that end date will be extended to 22 May. All visitors to Jem and Westgate since 10 May are also advised to monitor their health closely for 14 days from their date of visit.

Changi Prison Complex Cluster

Yet another inmate has tested positive at Changi Prison Complex: a 51 year-old male Singaporean.

He was placed on quarantine on 13 May after being identified as a close contact of a previous case.

He was tested that day, as well as on 17 May, 20 May, and 21 May. All tests returned negative.

His infection was detected when he was tested for COVID-19 on 23 May during his quarantine, and his test result came back positive the next day. He is asymptomatic and his serology test result is pending.

The man received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 6 May.

Learning Point Tuition Centre Cluster

Two new infections have been linked to the cluster at Learning Point Tuition Centre, namely:

• A 38-year-old female Singaporean who works as a teacher at Maha Bodhi School
• An 8-year-old female Singaporean who is a student at Yu Neng Primary School

The 8-year-old is a classmate of a previous case and was placed on quarantine on 16 May.

She was tested for COVID-19 on 18 May during quarantine and her test result was negative.

But on 23 May, the young girl developed a fever and sore throat, and reported her symptoms. She was tested for COVID-19 on the same day and this time, her test result came back positive for COVID-19. Her serology test result is negative.

Marina Bay Sands Casino Dealer Cluster

More and more dealers are testing positive at the Marina Bay Sand Casino cluster, and this time it’s a 32-year-old male Singaporean.

He was placed on quarantine on 17 May after being identified as a close contact of a previous case.

He was tested on 22 May during quarantine, and developed a cough on the same day. His antigen rapid test (ART) came back positive on the same day, as did a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on 24 May. His serology test result is negative.

McDonald’s Delivery Riders Cluster

The cluster linked to the McDonald’s delivery riders who work at Pasir Ris Elias Community Club has five new infections linked to it. They are:

• A 31-year-old male Malaysia national who works as a delivery rider for Pizza Hut (Punggol Plaza)
•  A-34 year-old male Malaysia national who works as a delivery rider for Pizza Hut (Havelock II)
• A 15-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at Peicai Secondary School and had last gone to school on 4 May
• An 18-year-old male Singaporean who works part-time at Pizza Hut (Punggol Plaza) as a kitchen staff
• A 16-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at Greendale Secondary School and works part-time at Pizza Hut (Punggol Plaza)

The 15-year-old works part-time at Pizza Hut (Punggol Plaza) as a kitchen staff.

He developed a cough on 20 May but did not seek medical treatment. He underwent both an ART and PCR test on 23 May, and both came back positive on the same day, when he also developed a fever. His serology test result is pending.

Tan Tock Seng Hospital Ward 9D Cluster

It’s hard to believe, but people the cluster at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) is still growing, albeit very slowly.

This time, a 40-year-old female Indonesia national who is a foreign domestic worker was added to its long list of infections.

She was placed on quarantine on 30 April after being identified as a visitor to Ward 9D of TTSH.

She was tested for COVID-19 on 3 May during quarantine and her test result was negative for COVID-19 infection.

As she had been identified as a household contact of a previous case, her quarantine was extended on 8 May. She was asymptomatic, but she tested positive after a test on 22 May. Her serology test result is pending.

3 Clusters Have 1 New Infection Each

Three other clusters which were linked to a specific case had one new infection each linked to it.

They are:

• A 2-year-old male Hong Kong citizen who is a student at Heart Field Kindergarten and had last gone to school on 14 May (Case 63236 cluster)
• A 47-year-old male Singaporean who is unemployed (Case 63376 cluster)
• A 57-year-old male Singaporean who works as a cleaner at Mencast Marine Pte Ltd (Case 63515 cluster)

Cases With Established Links

In addition, there were another three other cases with established links, namely:

•  A 54-year-old female Singaporean who is a homemaker
• A 30-year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Hong Ye Group Pte Ltd as a cleaning supervisor at Changi Business Park
• A 28 -year-old female Singaporean who works as an engineer at Takenaka Corporation

The 54-year-old is a family member and close contact of a previous case, while the cleaning supervisor is a workplace contact of a previous case.

12 Imported Cases

Besides the 24 community infections, 12 other cases were reported, all from abroad. All had been placed on stay-home notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival here.

They are:

• Three Singaporeans and two Singapore Permanent Residents (PRs) who returned from India and the US
• One Dependant’s Pass holder who arrived from Russia
• Two Work Permit holders who arrived from Indonesia, both of whom are foreign domestic workers
• Three Short-Term Visit Pass holders from Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia
• One Special Pass holder who is a sea crew member. He arrived from Vietnam on a vessel and was tested onboard without disembarking

244 Confirmed Cases in Hospitals

At the moment, there are 244 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most of whom are stable or improving. 3 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Another 268 cases with lower risk factors and mild symptoms are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

22 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities recently.

Feature Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purposes only)