26 COVID-19 Cases Today (13 Jul); 19 Are Community Cases With 8 Belonging to the Emerging KTV Cluster

It seems like we might be witnessing the beginning of yet another big cluster.

As of 12pm today (13 Jul), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed 26 new cases of COVID-19 infection.

19 are community cases, of which 8 belong to the emerging KTV cluster. Of the 19 cases today, 5 are linked to previous cases, and have already been placed on quarantine. 10 are linked to previous cases and were detected through surveillance. 4 are currently unlinked.

There are 7 imported cases, who have already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. 5 were detected upon arrival in Singapore, while 2 developed the illness during SHN or isolation.

This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 62,744.

Based on yesterday’s numbers, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 28 cases in the week before to 19 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has increased from 4 cases in the week before to 10 cases in the past week.

The 7-day moving average number of all linked community cases and all unlinked community cases are 1.3 and 1.4 respectively.

MOH Investigating COVID-19 Infections Among Vietnamese Social Hostesses

The Ministry of Health (MOH) is conducting an investigation into cases of coronavirus infection among Vietnamese social hostesses who had frequented karaoke lounges and clubs that are now operating as F&B outlets, as well as their social contacts.

The ministry will carry out a special testing operation for employees at three entertainment outlets here, namely:

• Supreme KTV at Far East Shopping Centre
• Empress KTV at Tanglin Shopping Centre
• Club Dolce at the commercial centre of Balestier Point

The testing operation will help “uncover any community infection cases”, it said.

Free COVID-19 Testing For Visitors as Well

The ministry is also offering free COVID-19 testing to members of the public who had visited the above premises between 29 June and 12 July.

Those who have visited other KTV lounges or clubs that are operating as F&B outlets as well as those who have interacted with Vietnamese social hostesses “in any setting” may also get tested for free, the ministry said.

It advised all visitors to the three premises listed above to monitor their health closely and minimise social interactions as far as possible for 14 days from their last date of visit.

Those who develop any COVID-19 symptoms should see their doctor immediately, it added.

MOH explained that it’s offering free tests to visitors and those who had interacted with Vietnamese social hostesses to “pre-emptively mitigate any potential risk of wider, undetected community transmission.”

How to Book an Appointment

Designated testing centres have been set up at several locations across the country. The ones that also test children aged 12 and below are:

• Fullerton Health Testing Centre located at Szechuan Court @ Raffles City Shopping Centre Level 3
• Kingsway Medical Clinic 

Another testing centre at Raffles Hospital allows testing for children aged 7 and above.

Besides these, there are five other testing centres where swabbing for children is not available.

They are:

• Former Da Qiao Primary School, 8 Ang Mo Kio Street 54
• Former Coral Primary School, 20 Pasir Ris Street 51
• Former Bedok North Secondary School, 20 Jln Damai
• Former Bishan Park Secondary School, 2 Sin Ming Walkd
• Former Shuqun Secondary School, 450 Jurong East Street 21

Head here to book an appointment at one of these five centres.

80 Cases in Hospitals; 6,304,415 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Administered

80 cases are currently warded in hospital. Most are well and under observation. There are currently 6 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and 2 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).

In total, there are currently 22 active clusters, ranging between 3 and 94 infections.

As of 11 July 2021, we have administered a total of 6,304,415 doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme. The total number of doses administered was 6,304,415, covering 3,981,886 individuals. 2,322,529 individuals have received their second dose and completed the full vaccination regimen.

Featured Image: Facebook (Supreme KTV)