MOH Investigating New Cluster in Bugis Junction That Has 20 Cases; People Who Had Visited There Offered Free Test

It’s confirmed now: the coronavirus is messing with us.

For several days in the past week, we had fewer than 40 new infections per day. Just as we were thinking of which country to travel to in the future, that number shot up to 94 on Monday (23 Aug).

And yesterday, it rose to 111.

Why are you doing this to us?

Of the 111 locally transmitted cases, 33 are unlinked. Here are the details.

24 Cases Linked to North Coast Lodge Cluster

24 of the local infections are linked to the North Coast Lodge cluster, which now has 86 cases in total.

For the past three days, the authorities have been testing the more than 5,300 residents at the dorm. Testing operations have since concluded.

Three New Clusters, Including Bugis Junction

Three new clusters were identified yesterday, including one linked to Bugis Junction.

Located at 200 Victoria Street, the cluster has 20 cases.

Another new cluster, linked to Selarang Halfway House at Upper Changi Road North, has eight infections.

The last new cluster is linked to an individual case and has four infections.

With the closure of three clusters, we now have 70 active clusters in the country.

MOH Investigating New Cluster in Bugis Junction That Has 20 Cases; People Who Had Visited There Offered Free Test

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said it’s investigating cases of infection in the Bugis Junction cluster among those who work there.

“Staff who have been working in affected shops at Bugis Junction will be tested, and close contacts of confirmed cases will be quarantined,” MOH said.

Free COVID-19 testing will also be offered to those who visited the retail shops or used the services or facilities at Bugis Junction between 17 August and 24 August.

Tap here for details on the testing operations.

Individuals who had only walked through the mall to connect to neighbouring buildings or Bugis MRT station need not be tested, MOH said.

All visitors at the specified dates should monitor their health closely and minimise social interactions as far as possible for 14 days from their date of visit.

As always, if they feel unwell, they should see a doctor.

339 Cases in Hospital; 7 in ICU

At the moment, there are 339 COVID-19 cases in hospitals, most of whom are well and under observation.

20 severe cases currently require oxygen supplementation and seven are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Of these 27 cases, 23 are patients above the age of 60. 19 of them are either partially vaccinated or completely unvaccinated.

The percentage of unvaccinated patients who fell severely ill or died over the last 28 days was 8.7%, compared to 1.6% for vaccinated cases.

As of Monday, 78% of our population has been fully vaccinated, with 82% receiving at least one dose.

Decrease in Community Cases

If we pretend that yesterday didn’t happen, it’s not been that bad a week for us.

The number of new community cases has decreased from 322 in the week before to 290 in the past week.

However, the number of unlinked community cases has gone up from 83 cases in the week before to 121 cases in the past week.

Read Also:

• Ong Ye Kung: Most COVID-19 Deaths Were Infections from Early-Aug When Fewer People Were Vaccinated
• If You Choose Not to be Vaccinated, Your Boss Can Deduct Your Pay for Regular COVID-19 Tests

Featured Image: TK Kurikawa / Shutterstock.com (Image for illustration purpose only)