13-Year-Old Boy Among Community Covid-19 Cases Reported Yesterday

Yesterday, on 27 August, MOH announced 77 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Singapore, with two community cases and five imported cases. The remaining cases are linked to workers’ dormitories.

The total cases in Singapore now stand at 56,572.

Details On Community Cases

The community cases were detected through MOH’s enhanced community testing, with rules stating that those above the age of 13 who were diagnosed with an acute respiratory infection (ARI) upon first seeing a doctor have to be screened.

Of the two community cases, it was reported that a 13-year-old Singaporean boy was among them. Dubbed as case 56627, he is an unlinked case.

Investigations are ongoing. All identified contacts of the boy have been isolated and placed under quarantine, and they will be tested for the virus at the beginning and end of their quarantine period.

To find out the possible origins of where he may have caught the virus from, serological tests will also be conducted on the boy’s household contacts.

The other community case is a 31-year-old Singaporean woman (Case 56626) who is linked to a previous case.

Having visited the SLR Revolution camera shop at Excelsior Shopping Centre (5 Coleman Street) on 17 August, she might have come into contact with Case 56184, who had worked there while infected.

She had developed symptoms on 22 August and was tested after being diagnosed for ARI.

MOH said that on average, the number of community cases has gone up from one a day the week before to two cases a day the past week. The numbers will continue to be monitored.

70 Dormitory Cases

Of the 70 confirmed cases residing in dormitories, 66 of them have been traced to other previously confirmed cases and had already been isolated and quarantined. Testing was then done during this period.

As for the other four cases, they were detected through surveillance testing. This includes a Rostered Routine Testing done bi-weekly among workers, as well as tests for those who showed symptoms of ARI.

Eight cases have come back with positive serological testing results, indicating possible past infections.

Imported Cases

Case 56594 and 56595 were a Singaporean and a Permanent Resident who had returned from India on 14 and 15 August, one of them being an 82-year-old woman.

A Dependent Pass holder who had arrived on 15 August from India and a Long-Term Pass holder who had arrived on 16 August from China were also part of the imported cases.

Upon arriving in Singapore, they all had been placed on a 14-day Stay-Home Notice where they had been quarantined. Testing was carried out during that period.

The remaining case was a 45-year-old Filipino seaman holding a Special Pass. He had arrived in Singapore from India on a vessel on 8 August, which he did not disembark from.

MOH had previously announced confirmed cases hailing from the same vessel, and the man had been put in quarantine after being identified as a close contact, subsequently testing positive for the virus during that time.

Updated Locations That Had Been Visited

The list that MOH had compiled of the public places that confirmed cases had visited for more than 30 minutes while infected have been further updated following the new cases.

On 22 August from 3pm to 3.45pm, a case had visited Our Tampines Hub.

Elias Mall, which another had visited on 19 August from 7.45am to 9.05am was also added to the list, specifically shops such as 623 F&B Pte Ltd and Sheng Siong Supermarket.

One of the confirmed cases were also found to have visited Sultan Mosque at Kampong Glam on 18 August before he was found to have carried the virus.

For precautionary measures, the mosque will be closed today on 28 August for cleaning and will reopen on Saturday, 29 August, said the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis).

They advised those who had been at the mosque from 2.30pm to 3pm last Tuesday to monitor their health until at least 1 September, and to visit a doctor if they feel unwell.

You can view the updated list in full here.

Close contacts of the case have been identified and placed on quarantine, with other contact tracing ongoing.

MOH also advised those who were present at the places on the list at the specified timings to be cautious of their health for 14 days since the date of visit.

If any symptoms pointing towards ARI such as sore throat, cough, or flu start to develop, they are advised to seek help from a doctor immediately and inform them of their exposure history. Symptoms also include fever and a loss of taste or smell.

They also stressed that there was no need to avoid the places on the list, for the National Environment Agency will be working with the management of these places to provide proper guidance on cleaning and disinfecting the place.

As of now, 168 more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community facilities.

This brings the tally to 66 confirmed cases still in the hospital and of stable condition, while 55,139 cases have fully recovered from the virus and have been discharged.