SIA Air Steward Had Driven for Grab Before Testing Positive for COVID-19; Contact Tracing for His Passengers Ongoing

Previously, it was reported that the sole community case reported on 28 Dec 2020 is an air steward and a part-time driver with Grab.

His test results initially returned inconclusive and it was only after multiple tests that his results came back positive.

Now, it’s revealed that he might have been driving for Grab when he was infectious.

SIA Air Steward Had Driven for Grab Before Testing Positive for COVID-19

According to an ST report, the air steward had driven for Grab from 17 to 24 Dec 2020. He had returned to Singapore on 16 Dec 2020.

Airline crew are exempted from stay-home-notices since Mar 2020 provided they took enough precautions against the coronavirus.

He was tested on 23 Dec 2020 as part of the CAAS’s surveillance pro-active testing for air crew returning from overseas flights.

His results came back inconclusive on 25 Dec 2020 and he took another test on that day.

The result came back inconclusive as well.

It was only on 27 Dec 2020 that he was confirmed to be infected and was sent to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

He reportedly stayed home from 25 to 27 Dec 2020.

Contact Tracing for His Passengers Ongoing

Grab revealed on 29 Dec 2020 that the man has been temporarily suspended on their platform.

It was added that they are working together with MOH to facilitate contact tracing.

MOH says that any passengers who are deemed to be close contact of the air steward will have to be quarantined.

If you’re wondering why the difference in treatment between passengers on public transport and private-hire services, MOH explains:

“The risk of transmission is generally assessed to be low on public transport (such as buses and trains), where contact is transient. However, given the close proximity between drivers and passengers in private hire cars and taxis, passengers who are assessed to be close contacts of a confirmed case will be quarantined as a precautionary measure.”

Details On Cases On 30 Dec 2020

On 30 Dec 2020, 27 new Covid-19 cases were reported, bringing the total number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore to 58,569.

26 of them are import cases, with 25 of them serving Stay-Home-Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore.

The sole remaining import case is an SIA pilot who tested negative upon his return to Singapore but later showed symptoms.

The sole unlinked community case is a Marine Surveyor at Lloyd’s Register Singapore.

His work consists of boarding vessels docked at Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard.

He developed symptoms on 27 Dec and went to a general practitioner clinic on 28 Dec 2020 where he was tested positive for the coronavirus.

He had not gone to work since the onset of symptoms and his last Covid-19 swap under the Rostered Routine Testing (RRT) on 14 Dec returned negative.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing.

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