New Covid-19 Cluster Reported At S’pore’s Biggest Dormitory

It’s a Sunday and now, an area that was previously cleared of all Covid-19 cases has re-emerged as a new cluster.

For those who are still diligently tracking every new case, read on to find out more.

Cluster at Sungei Tengah Lodge

Yesterday, 22 August, 50 new coronavirus cases were reported.

Of the 50, 2 of these cases were linked to 55 previous cases to form a new cluster at Sungei Tengah Lodge.

A Brief About Sungei Tengah Lodge: 

Sungei Tengah Lodge houses 16,000 workers, making it Singapore’s largest dormitory.

It was the fourth dormitory to be declared an isolation area on 9 Apr 2020.

2,303 Covid-19 cases were confirmed at Sungei Tengah Lodge, as of 17 July, which makes it the second-largest cluster in Singapore.

It was given the all-clear on 21 July and it reportedly only houses workers who had recovered from the disease or were tested negative for the virus.

But clearly, this status did not last, and it’s not the only one.

On 18 August, MOM and MOH reported that nearly 100 new coronavirus cases had emerged in dormitories that had previously been cleared as clusters.

Because the foreign workers themselves and Singapore’s economy cannot withstand another mass lockdown of foreign workers living in dormitories, the authorities have come up with a few ways to keep them safe while restarting work.

Scheduling Swab Tests

In order to return to work, workers have to have completed a swab test in the past 14 days by 5 September. 

Workers going to work sites and those in the construction, marine and process sectors are to undergo rostered routine testing every fortnight under Health Promotion Board’s swab registration system

2 Community Cases, 5 Imported Infections

There are 2 new Covid-19 cases in the community on 22 Aug 2020.

One of the patients, a 63-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital for a separate medical condition. She was then tested and found to have contracted the virus on Friday.

The other case involves a 56-year-old woman who works at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central.

Suffering from an acute respiratory infection, she was tested under MOH’s enhanced community testing and found to have the coronavirus. She had gone to work after showing symptoms on Wednesday and was only tested positive on Friday.

Both cases are unlinked to previous infections.

As for the imported cases, there was a Singaporean returning from Iran, a student’s pass holder, 2 dependant’s pass holders and a work permit holder currently working in Singapore.

All cases were tested while on their stay-home notices (SHN) at dedicated facilities.

As we continue to hope to soon see the end of this pandemic, do take care of yourselves and others around you.