41 COVID-19 Cases Today (20 May); 27 are Community Cases With 6 of Them Unlinked

You know things are getting worse when bubble tea stores are starting to close.

As of 12pm today (20 May), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed 41 new cases of COVID-19 infection.

27 are community cases, and of these, 21 are linked to previous cases.

This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 61,730.

Based on yesterday’s figures, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 49 cases in the week before to 187 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from 9 cases in the week before to 49 cases in the past week.

Unlinked Cases from 19 May Include Safe-Distancing Officer in Westgate

Thankfully, the number of unlinked cases went down yesterday, dropping to 4. They are:

•  a 45-year-old male Singaporean who works as delivery personnel at Fairfield Book Publishers Pte Ltd
•  a 24-year-old female Singaporean who works as a basic care assistant at Alexandra Hospital
• a 28-year-old male Singaporean who works as an engineer at Patec Ptd Ltd
• a 45-year-old male Singaporean who is a Safe Distancing Ambassador deployed at Westgate

The Safe Distancing Ambassador developed a cough and sore throat on 15 May, as well as a runny nose and body aches on 17 May, but did not seek medical treatment until 18 May at a polyclinic.

He was tested for COVID-19, and his test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 19 May.

His serology test result is pending.

The man received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 29 March, and the second dose on 25 April.

Five new clusters have also formed. Here are the details:

Changi Airport Terminal 3 Cluster

7 of the community cases were linked to the Changi Airport Terminal 3 cluster, which is our largest active cluster at the moment.

They are:

•  a 31-year-old female Philippines national who works part-time as a serving staff at Nana’s Green Tea at DUO Galleria
•  a 33-year-old female China national who is an inspection officer at AFPD Pte Ltd and had last gone to work on 8 May
•  a 12-year-old female Singaporean who is a student at White Sands Primary School and had last gone to school on 12 May
•  a 46-year-old male Singaporean who works as a swimming coach
•  an 11-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at St Stephen’s School and had last gone to school on 12 May
•  a 12-year-old female Singaporean who is a student at St Anthony Canossian Primary School and had last gone to school on 11 May
• a 62-year-old male Singaporean who works as an attendant at Changi Airport Terminal 3

The 11-year-old student was placed on quarantine on 12 May after being identified as a family member and household contact of a previous case.

She was tested for COVID-19 on 15 May and her test result came back negative on the same day.

She developed a cough and sore throat on 18 May, however, and was tested for COVID-19 again. This time, her test returned a positive result.

Her serology test result is pending.

Learning Point Tuition Centre Cluster

Another cluster that has been consistently growing over the last few days is the Learning Point Tuition Centre cluster.

Yesterday, three additions were made to the cluster. They are:

• a 39-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who is self-employed
•  a 6-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who is a student at Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Kindergarten and had last gone to school on 12 May
• a 69-year-old female Singaporean who is a retiree

The 6-year-old is a family member and household contact of a previous case and was placed on quarantine on 15 May.

He was tested on 17 May and though he was asymptomatic, his result came back positive the next day.

His serology test result was negative, indicating recent infection.

Changi Prison Complex Cluster

The Changi Prison Complex cluster also had three new infections linked to it. They are:

• a 56-year-old male Singaporean who is an inmate at Changi Prison Complex
• a 46-year-old male Singaporean who is an inmate at Changi Prison Complex
• a 28-year-old male Singaporean who is an inmate at Changi Prison Complex

The 56-year-old was placed on quarantine on 13 May after being identified as a close contact of a previous case.

He was tested for COVID-19 on 17 May, and developed a cough on 18 May. His was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive that day.

His serology test result is pending.

Marina Bay Sands Casino Dealer Cluster

Yet another infection has been linked to the cluster which started with the infection of a 36-year-old male Malaysian man who works as a dealer at Marina Bay Sands Casino.

The new case is a 32-year-old female Malaysian national who also works as a dealer at Marina Bay Sands Casino.

She’s a close contact of the 36-year-old dealer and another previous case. She was placed on quarantine on 16 May and was tested for COVID-19 the next day.

Her result came back positive on 18 May, and she developed a fever that day.

Her serology test result is pending.

Jin Tai Tong Food Industries Cluster

One of the new clusters that have emerged is at Jin Tai Tong Food Industries, which now has five cases.

The two new infections which were linked to it yesterday are:

• a 26-year-old male Vietnam national who works as a warehouse assistant at Jin Tai Tong Chinese Medical Centre
• a 39-year-old male China national who works as a warehouse assistant at Jin Tai Tong Food Industries Pte Ltd

The 39-year-old is a workplace contact of a previous case and developed a sore throat on 17 May.

He sought medical treatment at Raffles Hospital, where he was tested for COVID-19 and he was confirmed to be carrying the virus the next day.

His serology test result is pending.

Sms Infocomm Cluster

A new COVID-19 cluster has formed at Sms Infocomm as well, which now has three cases.

Yesterday, one more infection was linked to it. She’s a 29-year-old Malaysian national who works at Sms Infocomm and is a close contact of a previous case.

She was placed on quarantine on 17 May and developed a fever and cough on the same day.

She reported her symptoms on 18 May, and was tested for COVID-19. Her test result came positive on the same day.

Her serology test result is pending.

Case 63236 Cluster

Another new cluster formed after more infections were linked to Case 63236 – a 53-year-old male Singaporean who works as a personal chauffeur. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 14 May.

Yesterday, one more COVID-19 patient was linked to the cluster. She’s a 39-year-old female Philippines national who is a foreign domestic worker, and household contact of another case in the cluster.

She was placed on quarantine on 14 May and tested on 17 May. She was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive the next day and developed a fever on the same day.

Her serology test result is negative, indicating a fresh infection.

Case 63290 Cluster 

Another infection has been linked to the Case 63290 cluster, which started when a 64-year-old female Singapore PR was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 15 May.

The latest infection in the cluster is a 36-year-old female Singapore PR who is a preschool teacher at Safari House (Lakeside). She has not gone to work since end-March 2021.

She is a family member and household contact of Case 63290, and was placed on quarantine on 15 May.

She developed a sore throat on 16 May and cough the next day but only reported her symptoms at night.

She was tested for COVID-19 on 18 May, and her test result came back positive on the same day.

Her serology test result is pending.

Case 63292 Cluster

Two more cases have been linked to Case 63292 – a 29-year-old male Singaporean who works as a digital web designer and was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 15 May.

They are:

• a 65-year-old male Singaporean who works at SP Trading Pte Ltd
• a 64-year-old female Singaporean who is a homemaker

The 65-year-old is a family member and close contact of Case 63292 and was placed on quarantine on 15 May.

He was tested for COVID-19 on 18 May during quarantine and his test result came back positive the next day. He developed an itchy throat on the same day.

His serology test result is pending.

The man completed his vaccination regimen on 17 April, having received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 27 March.

Case 63319 Cluster

One of the new clusters began with Case 63319 – a 77-year-old female Singaporean who is a homemaker and was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 15 May.

Yesterday, three more cases were added to the cluster.

They are:

• a 44-year-old female Philippines national who is a foreign domestic worker
• a 15-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at Yu Ying Secondary School, and had last gone to school on 12 May
• a 48-year-old male Singaporean who works as a logistics officer at Ceva Logistics

The 15-year-old student is a family member and household contact of Case 63319, and was placed on quarantine on 15 May.

He developed a fever and cough on 17 May and was tested for COVID-19 on the same day.

He was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on 18 May.

His serology test result is negative.

Case 63336 Cluster

The last of the five new clusters is linked to a 22-year-old female Singaporean who works at Invade Industry Pte Ltd. She was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 16 May.

Yesterday, one more case was linked to the 22-year-old. He is a 48-year-old male Singaporean who works as a personal chauffeur.

He was placed on quarantine on 16 May, after being identified as a close contact of Case 63336.

He was tested for COVID-19 on 17 May during quarantine and his result came back positive the next day.

His serology test result is pending.

Other Cases With Known Links

There were five other cases with established links as well. They are:

• a 39-year-old male Singaporean who is a Pastor at Hearts Alive Church
• a 32-year-old male Singaporean who works as a software engineer at M-DAQ Pte Ltd
• a 53-year-old female Singaporean who is a homemaker
• a 33-year-old female Singaporean who works as a preschool teacher at My First Skool (235 Bukit Panjang)
• a 34-year-old female Malaysia national who works as a flight stewardess at Jetstar Asia Airways

475 Active Cases

There are currently 221 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and 5 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

254 are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.

31 have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

Featured Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com (Image for illustration purpose only)