Another Bus Interchange is Now a COVID-19 Cluster with 14 Cases So Far

If this were a regular virus, we would already be in the recovery stage, or back to where things were in the past.

If this were a regular virus, we’d be able to celebrate defeating the virus.

But of course, the coronavirus is no regular virus.

While it took a break from spreading for a few days, our daily case count has returned to the hundreds, and for some reason, it’s targeting workers at bus interchanges in particular.

113 New Locally Transmitted Cases

113 new locally transmitted cases were reported yesterday (28 Aug), of which 29 are unlinked.

27 of these cases were detected through surveillance testing.

In addition, there were eight imported cases, all of whom were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival.

Two New Clusters, One Involving Bus Captains

Yet another cluster has been linked to the staff at a bus interchange, with it being at Jurong East this time.

All 14 cases in the Jurong East bus interchange cluster are bus captains. Fortunately, most of them are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

All other staff members at the interchange have undergone a PCR test, and will take an antigen rapid test every seven days.

Like other bus interchanges affected by an outbreak, it has increased its frequency of disinfection and has carried out deep cleaning of the premises.

Only interchange staff will be allowed to dine in at the interchange canteen, and will have to do so individually.

The bus captain’s cluster was one of two new ones reported yesterday, the other forming at Homestay Lodge.

The foreign workers’ dormitory, located in Kaki Bukit, has a cluster of 5 infections.

Existing Clusters Grow

The Bugis Junction cluster continues to grow, with another 25 infections added to it yesterday. It now has 176 infections.

Other additions include:

• One case to the Tuas South Lodge cluster, which now has five cases
• One case to the Clementi bus interchange staff cluster, which now has eight cases
• Three cases to the Toa Payoh bus interchange staff cluster, which now has 33 cases
• Four cases to the Punggol bus interchange staff cluster which now has 21 cases
• Three cases to the Selarang Halfway House cluster, which now has 30 cases
• Eight cases to the North Coast Lodge, which now has 139 cases
• One case to the Sengkang bus interchange staff cluster, which now has 24 cases
• One case to the Westlite Juniper Dormitory cluster, which now has 72 cases
• One case to the Bangkit 257 Coffee House cluster, which now has four cases

389 Cases in Hospitals; 6 in ICU

At the moment, there are 389 COVID-19 cases in hospitals, most of whom are well and under observation.

16 severe cases require oxygen supplementation, while six cases are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Of these 22 cases, 16 were patients above the age of 60. 11 of them were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

As of Friday (27 Aug), 79% of our population has been fully vaccinated, while 83% have received at least one dose.

All Residents at AMK HDB Block to Undergo COVID-19 Testing

Thanks to the detection of nine infections there, all residents of Block 113 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 will have to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing.

The nine infections were detected in five households at the block.

The mass testing operation will be conducted at the void deck of the block today from 9am to 4pm.

Testing is mandatory for all residents at the block, except for those who have already tested negative for COVID-19 from 25 Aug onwards.

While waiting for their test results, residents are advised to minimise social interactions as much as possible.

Learn more about the different COVID-19 test kits here:

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Featured Image: Google Maps