Crowne Plaza in Changi Airport to Close for 2 Weeks After 2nd Unlinked COVID-19 Case Reported in the Hotel

For those hoping to stay at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, you won’t be able to do so for the next two weeks.

On Wednesday, a Korean national working at Azur in Crowne Plaza tested positive for the coronavirus.

And the next day, before things could settle down, another unlinked case emerged from the same place.

2nd Unlinked COVID-19 Case Reported in the Premises

On Thursday (7 Jan), another unlinked case emerged at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport.

Similar to the first case, the 43-year-old Malaysian national works at Azur delivery pre-packed food to aircrews and hotel guests.

She does not have any interaction with the restaurant’s guests.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) revealed that she developed symptoms on 3 Jan 2021 (Sunday). She went to a general practitioner clinic on Tuesday where she underwent a Covid-19 swab.

Her test returned positive the next day and she was sent to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

Her serological result returns negative, indicating that it’s likely a current infection.

Preliminary tests indicate that she isn’t infected with B117, the more infectious Covid-19 strain.

Crowne Plaza in Changi Airport to Close for 2 Weeks

Because of the two unlinked cases, MOH can no longer exclude the possibility that transmission could’ve occurred within the hotel.

On 7 Jan, the ministry announced that it’s closing the hotel for two weeks, starting from 8 Jan 2021 and the suspension will end on 21 Jan 2021.

New guests will not be accepted at the hotel and existing guests, including foreign aircrew and guests, staying at the hotel will be checked out progressively.

Incoming aircrew will be housed in alternative locations.

MOH has started testing all the staff working at the hotel for Covid-19.

Restaurants and event spaces within the hotel will be closed as well for deep cleaning and disinfection works.

Details Of 7 Jan Cases

On 7 Jan 2021, MOH reported 33 new Covid-19 cases.

2 of them are community cases, with one from Azur at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, and the other, a 63-year-old AirMark Aviation cargo operator located at Dnata Cargo Centre.

According to MOH, he mainly loads and unloads cargo for My Indo Airlines and does not interact with passengers.

He had developed symptoms on Monday (4 Jan) and went to Changi General Hospital (CGH) on Wednesday.

He tested positive for the coronavirus on the same day and was warded.

His serological test result is pending.

The remaining 31 cases are imported.

It includes:

• 4 Singaporeans
• 3 Permanent Residents
• 3 Dependant’s Pass Holders
• 2 Work Pass Holders
• 19 Work Permit Holders

All of them, except one, was placed on SHN upon arrival in Singapore.

The remaining case was held up at immigration due to incomplete documents and stayed at the airport’s transit area for two days before resolving them.

He was sent to a dedicated SHN facility after.

New Entries Added To MOH’s List Of Places Visited By Infectious Covid-19 Patients

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport was, of course, added to MOH’s list of places visited by Covid-19 patients in their infectious phase, but it’s not the only one.

Other new entries to the list include the Sri Senpaga Vinayahar Temple and NTUC Income at 2 Tampines Central 6.

You can view the full list here.

If you’re in the same area at roughly the same timeframe, monitor your health closely for the next 14 days.

Seek a medical practitioner immediately if you experience even the slightest symptoms.

Meanwhile, individuals who were identified as close contacts of confirmed cases would’ve already been notified.

By the way, for those too lazy to peruse the list, you can also go to your TraceTogether app which will tell you if you’ve been anywhere near confirmed Covid-19 cases in the past 14 days.

Featured Image: Sorbis / Shutterstock.com