Majority Of Migrant Workers’ Covid-19 Cases Reported Yesterday Were From S’pore’s Biggest Dormitory Which Was Previously Cleared

On 28 Aug 2020, Singapore reported a two-digit figure that’s close to three digits.

94 new Covid-19 cases were reported, bringing the total number of cases in Singapore to 56,666.

There were 4 cases in the community, 10 imported cases and 80 cases made up of migrant workers living in dormitories.

Most Migrant Worker Cases Comes From S’pore’s Biggest Dormitory

According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), out of the 80 cases reported for migrant workers living in dormitories, 58 of them were from Sungei Tengah and they were all on quarantine earlier.

This means that the Sungei Tengah Lodge cluster has grown to 175 cases.

Sungei Tengah was Singapore’s first Covid-19 dormitory cluster after all dormitories (with the exception of a few standalone buildings) were given the ‘all clear’.

For the 4,800 migrant workers who were quarantined after the cluster was declared on 22 Aug, MOH said they’ve tested about 3,000 of them.

There are more to go and if you’re hoping that Singapore will get a “31” for new cases reported today, you might be disappointed.

MOH says that numbers in the coming days are expected to be high, given that these migrant workers have a higher chance of testing positive.

A 25-Year-Old Unlinked Community Case

Remember how, during Circuit Breaker, it was mentioned that other than the total number of cases, the number of community cases and unlinked cases matters as well?

Yeah, so an unlinked case like one of the community cases reported yesterday is a cause for concern.

One of the 4 community cases on 28 Aug is a 25-year-old woman and MOH is still trying to link her to other cases.

She started experiencing symptoms on 22 Aug and was tested positive on Thursday.

She was detected under the enhanced regime where every individual aged 13 and above have to undergo the Covid-19 swab test when they first see a doctor for Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI).

The other three cases have been quarantined earlier and one of them were asymptomatic.

Overall, the average number of community cases and unlinked cases over the past two weeks have remained stable at 2 and 1 respectively.

10 Imported Cases

There were 10 imported cases reported yesterday.

There are 3 Singaporeans, 4 PRs, 1 dependant’s pass holder, a long-term visit pass holder and a short-term visit pass holder.

An 88-year-old Singaporean and a six-year-old girl were among the cases reported yesterday and they had returned from India.

All imported cases were placed on SHN the moment they arrived in Singapore.

S’pore Must Remain Vigilant

Previously, the foreign worker dormitories had nearly 100 workers pop up in dormitories that were considered ‘cleared of Covid-19’.

While the authorities have put in place safety measures to manage infections while reopening the economy, they added that this is a reminder that no matter how safe you think you are, you should never let down your guard.

The Multi-Ministry Task Force has also implemented new rules for F&B businesses such as not taking reservations for groups of more than 5 people and keeping background music soft to keep the virus transmission down.

F&B outlets who refused to listen were punished without hesitation.

We can also do our part by obeying the rules and keeping to the measures, whether it be socialising in groups of five or wearing your mask properly.

This means if someone tells you that you need to mask up, you don’t spit at the poor guy.

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