Only Unlinked Community Case Reported on 29 Apr Has Also Been Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19

When you woke up at 5pm yesterday, as you do every day, you checked the Goody Feed app for a COVID-19 update.

After which your eyes widened and your jaw fell through all 25 floors of your HDB block.

A whopping 16 new community cases were reported yesterday (29 Apr), the highest number of community infections in Singapore since 11 Jul last year, when 24 community cases were reported.

Now it turns out that the only unlinked community case had already been vaccinated against the much-detested virus.

Only Unlinked Community Case Reported on 29 Apr Has Also Been Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19

The  39-year-old Vietnamese woman works as a cleaner at a community care facility in Tuas South.

These facilities house people who have tested positive for COVID-19 but have mild symptoms and lower risk factors.

The woman, like other cleaners there, dons full personal protective equipment while at work, including an N95 mask, face shield, gown, and gloves.

She also helps out on occasion at a food stall at The Summit in the National University of Singapore’s Bukit Timah campus.

When she was tested as part of rostered routine testing on Monday (26 Apr), her pooled test result came back positive for COVID-19 the next day and she was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

A subsequent test done there also came back positive.

The authorities then discovered that the woman had completed her vaccination regimen – she received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on 27 Jan, and the second dose on 19 Feb.

All her previous tests from the routine screening, including the latest one on 14 Apr, were negative.

Her infection is currently unlinked.

Remaining 15 Community Cases Linked to Clusters

The remaining 15 community cases reported yesterday were linked to existing COVID-19 clusters.

Seven of them are family members of the ICA officer working at Changi Airport whose infection was reported on Wednesday.

The man and his family had gathered for a meal on Sunday, which is when the disease was likely to spread.

The other eight cases are linked to the growing coronavirus cluster at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) which began with the infection of a nurse deployed to Ward D – a general ward.

Two staff members and six patients have since tested positive, meaning there are now 9 infections linked to the cluster.

TTSH has introduced drastic measures to contain the outbreak, including barring visitors from entering the hospital except for critically ill patients.

19 Imported Cases

In addition to the 16 community cases, another 19 imported infections were reported.

These include:

• two Singaporeans
• nine permanent residents
• three dependant’s pass holders
• five work permit holders including a foreign domestic worker

All 19 cases had been placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore.

Featured Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com