4 People Tested Positive for COVID-19 From Special Testing Ops in Yishun & Hougang HDB Blocks

When the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that all residents in three HDB blocks in Hougang and Yishun would be tested, Singaporeans were concerned.

Can the virus spread easily between HDB flats? Has a large new cluster formed? 

This concern must largely have been triggered by the name “Yishun“, because mass testing, as the authorities said, is a good thing.

The more we test, the more undetected infections we can fish out and separate from the community.

Fortunately, the mass testing exercise did not detect a sea of new infections. In fact, you could the number of cases on one hand.

4 People Tested Positive for COVID-19 From Special Testing Ops in Yishun & Hougang HDB Blocks

Of the more than 1,000 residents tested in MOH’s special testing operations, only four returned positive results.

Three of the cases were detected in Block 745 Yishun Street 72, where 509 residents were swabbed.

The remaining case was among the 681 residents at Block 501 and Block 507 Hougang Avenue 8 who were tested.

Of those, 665 people were negative, the health ministry said. 15 more test results are pending.

These residents were asked to undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test after surveillance measures and wastewater testing concluded it was likely that COVID-19 transmission had occurred there.

Investigations are ongoing to determine links and the source of transmission, but people will understandably be asking: can the coronavirus spread through the wastewater system?

Experts Say Unlikely That COVID-19 is Transmitted Between HDB Blocks via Wastewater System

Well, in a word, no.

Infectious disease experts believe it’s unlikely that the coronavirus is being transmitted between HDB blocks through the wastewater system.

Professor Paul Tambyah, president of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection (APCCMI), said that while viral fragments were found in wastewater, it doesn’t mean that it was the mode of transmission.

It’s simply a “screening tool to pick up the presence of individuals who are shedding the virus”, according to him.

What’s more, a spokesman from the Public Utilities Board (PUB) said that sanitary systems here are “closed systems”, meaning the pipes are airtight and watertight.

Consequently, no foul air, viruses, or bacteria can escape these pipes and spread to other households or between blocks, for that matter.

As for how the virus spread from one block to another, experts had several theories.

One believes it was through a contaminated surface, while others think it likely occurred during a social visit or meeting at a coffee shop.

Whatever it is, it certainly isn’t your poop, unless it has developed sentience and is walking the streets.

Featured Image: Google Maps