A Food Court Has Become A Cluster After 30 May’s COVID-19 Cases

When PM Lee announced yesterday (30 May) that he would be addressing the nation today, you probably collapsed to the floor before getting up swiftly to head to the supermarket.

“But why would we need a Circuit Breaker now when the COVID-19 situation is improving?” you questioned yourself while paying for 106 rolls of toilet paper. 

While speculation can lead to more heartache, PM Lee did mention the words “opening up” in his announcement, meaning we could be heading to Phase 2.5, Phase 2B, or even MCO 3.0—I mean, who really knows?

What I do know is that our tightened measures seem to be working; 19 community cases were recorded yesterday (30 May), of which five are unlinked.

Here are the details.

New Cluster at NTUC Foodfare (308 Anchorvale Road)

A new cluster at an NTUC Foodfare outlet at 308 Anchorvale Road was identified yesterday. Five of the new community infections have been linked to the cluster, namely:

• A 47-year-old male Malaysia national who works as a kitchen assistant at Hua Zai HK Style Roasted Delights (21 Hougang Street 51)
• A 21-year-old male Vietnam national who works as a kitchen assistant at Hua Zai HK Style Roasted Delight Rice Noodle (308 Anchorvale Road)
• A 22-year-old male Malaysia national who works as a kitchen assistant at Hua Zai HK Style Roasted Delights (21 Hougang Street 51)
• A 27-year-old male Malaysia national who works as a kitchen assistant at Hua Zai HK Style Roasted Delight Rice Noodle (308 Anchorvale Road)
• A 29-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who works as a chef at Rice Garden (308 Anchorvale Road)

The 21-year-old Vietnam national was placed on quarantine on 29 May after being identified as a household contact of five previous cases.

On the same day, he developed a cough and was tested for COVID-19 the next day. His result came back positive the same day. His serology test result is pending.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said its investigations showed there was ongoing transmission at the Foodfare outlet, and closed it to all members of the public for 14 days until 13 June to enable deep cleaning of the premises and to break the chain of transmission.

There will also be free COVID-19 tests for those who visited the store from 13 May to 30 May.

5 Unlinked Cases

Five of the 19 community cases reported yesterday (30 May) are currently unlinked. They are:

• A 37-year-old male India national who works as a delivery driver with CCG Logistics Pte Ltd
• A 59-year-old male India national who is retired
• A 22-year-old male Singaporean who works as a warehouse assistant at Keppel Logistics Pte Ltd.
• A 35-year-old male Singaporean who works at Nur Insan
• A 65-year-old female Singaporean who is a homemaker

The 59-year-old male India national had arrived from India on 25 January to visit his Singaporean child, and served his Stay-Home Notice (SHN) at a dedicated facility until 8 February.

He tested negative for three tests: his pre-departure test taken in India on 23 January, his on-arrival test in Singapore on 25 January, and another test taken during his SHN on 7 February.

He is asymptomatic, and his infection was detected when he took a COVID-19 pre-departure test on 27 May in preparation for his return trip to India. His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 28 May.

His serology test result is positive, which is indicative of a past infection.

MOH has stated that it has categorised his infection as a local transmission due to being unable to confirm that he had not been infected in Singapore. It has also promised that it has taken all necessary public health actions.

Cases With Established Links

Another six of our existing clusters had more infections linked to it yesterday.

A 25-year-old female Indonesian foreign domestic worker has been linked to the Chevy’s Bar and Bistro cluster, while a 38-year-old male Singaporean who works at Pizza Hut (Punggol Plaza) has been added to the McDonald’s delivery riders cluster.

Yet another case has been linked to the Jem/Westgate cluster as well, namely a 41 year-old female Philippines national who works as a waitress at Erwin’s Gastrobar (8A Marina Boulevard).

The cluster linked to Case 63757, a 67-year-old Singaporean retiree who tested positive on 26 May, had three additions yesterday. They are:

• A 57-year-old female Singaporean who is employed by A&P Maintenance Pte Ltd as a cleaner at DHL Supply Chain Advanced Regional Centre (1 Greenwich Drive)
• A 31-year-old male Singaporean who works in an administrative role at the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board
• A 27-year-old female Singaporean who works as a retail assistant at Lamy (Bugis Junction and Chinatown Point outlets)

Two new cases have been linked to the Case 63446 cluster as well, who originated from a 28-year-old Singaporean man who works as an engineer at Patec.

The two cases are:

• A 29-year-old female Singaporean who works in an administrative role at Sephora
• A 7-month-old female Singaporean who is a family member and household contact of Cases 63446 and 63866

A 41-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who works as a consultant at ICSC Pte Ltd has also been added to the Case 63806 cluster.

6 Imported Cases

In addition to the 19 community cases, 6 imported infections were reported yesterday. They are:

• 3 Singaporeans and 2 Singapore Permanent Residents who returned from Belgium, India, Indonesia, and the US
• 1 Work Permit holder who arrived from the Philippines and is a foreign domestic worker

They had all been placed on SHN upon arrival in Singapore.

1 New Death

Sadly, a 95-year-old woman has died from complications due to COVID-19 infection on Sunday, MOH said.

She was confirmed to be COVID-19–positive on 17 May and was warded at Changi General Hospital (CGH) for an unrelated medical condition.

The woman was linked to the Changi Airport Terminal 3 cluster, which now has 108 cases.

She had not been vaccinated against COVID-19, and had a history of cancer, hypertension, and hypothyroidism.

This is the third COVID-19 death reported in May and the country’s 33rd COVID-19 fatality.

Feature Image: Google Maps