No More Infection at Crowne Plaza After MOH Conducted ‘Special Testing Operation’

By
Shawn Ambrose
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First it was the Mandarin Orchard, and now Crowne Plaza.

The latter was ordered to close on Thursday (7 Jan) for two weeks after a second unlinked Covid-19 case was detected at the hotel.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said at the time that the closure was a precautionary measure as it couldn’t rule out the possibility that transmissions could have occurred at the hotel.

Now it seems that the closure was indeed a prudent choice.

A day later, a third case linked to the hotel was discovered.

The ministry also launched a large-scale testing operation to detect more possible cases before they spread, but fortunately, none were found.

No More Infection at Crowne Plaza After MOH Conducted ‘Special Testing Operation’

234 staff working at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport were swabbed as part of a “special testing operation” by MOH.

Fortunately, all 234 Covid-19 tests have returned a negative result.

However, MOH is still investigating the three cases detected earlier.

Based on its preliminary investigations, the ministry cannot dismiss the possibility that transmissions could have occurred at the hotel.

The hotel, including its restaurant and event spaces, will remain closed until 21 Jan.

29 Imported Cases Reported on Saturday

While it’s been a little rare in 2021, we received some good news on Saturday (9 Jan).

All 29 Covid-19 infections came from abroad, as no cases in the community were reported.

All of them had already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.

Here are the details of the 29 cases:

  • Four are Singaporeans and one is a Singapore Permanent Resident who returned from India, Indonesia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom
  • Three are dependant’s pass holders who arrived from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, and Maldives
  • One is a student’s pass holder who arrived from India
  • Five are work pass holders who arrived from India and the UAE
  • 13 are work permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, of whom three are foreign domestic workers
  • One is a short-term visit pass holder who arrived from India to visit her spouse who is a Singapore PR
  • One is a special pass holder who is a sea crew. He arrived from Indonesia onboard a vessel and was swabbed upon arrival. He was conveyed to the hospital when his test result came back positive for Covid-19 infection.

Of these, 25 are asymptomatic and were detected from proactive screening and surveillance.

67 Cases in Hospital

The 29 imported cases brings the country’s tally to 58,865.

That’s certainly a high number, but of these, 58,611 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged, meaning Singapore has a recovery rate of 99.6%.

At the moment, there are 67 confirmed cases still in hospitals, most of whom are stable or improving.

One is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Another 158 who have mild symptoms or are clinically well are being cared for at community facilities.

Featured Image: Sorbis / Shutterstock.com

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]