‘Cluster’ in Tampines HDB Block Has 2 More Infections But Both Are from the Same Household That’s Been Infected

2020-07-11 , 9:45 am

Ever since phase 2 of the circuit breaker started, we’ve seen a slight increase in the number of community cases that we have each day.

After all, more of us couldn’t take it anymore and got out of the house after being stuck in it for two months.

However, it got more worrying when a 66-year-old Singaporean man who had worked at The Leo Dormitory was infected with COVID-19 and subsequently infected six of his household members.

This immediately formed a ‘“cluster” at Block 111 Tampines Street 11 and the Ministry of Health (MOH) was on very high alert.

A few days later, two more people from the same block tested positive. They both lived on a different floor and said that they didn’t interact with the previous cluster.

As a precautionary measure, all the residents of the 58 households living in the same section of that block as well as their visitors were contacted to see if they were well since it was possible that they may have had accidental contact with the infected individuals either through the common lift lobby or the stairwell.

Affected common areas of the block were disinfected immediately and cleaning attendants have increased the cleaning of the areas to curb the spread of the virus.

It all seemed good for the next few days as most of the 160 residents and visitors who got tested were confirmed to not have been infected.

However, yesterday night, as everyone was focusing on the election results, the daily report by MOH showed otherwise.

‘Cluster’ in Tampines HDB Block Has 2 More Infections But Both Are from the Same Household That’s Been Infected

Out of the 16 community cases reported that day, two new infections – a seven-year-old Singaporean girl who was asymptomatic and an 18-year-old Singaporean boy who started having symptoms on 28 June – were found to be the family members of the Tampines cluster.

This means that the Block 111 Tampines Street 11 cluster now has a total of 11 infected individuals.

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Thankfully, the two new community COVID-19 cases had been quarantined earlier, just like the nine individuals who were first discovered to be infected, so there is no evidence that the two affected households have infected any other resident or visitor to that block. All of them are either recovering in hospitals or are in community care facilities.

As of now, 123 residents and visitors have gone through testing and all of their test results have indicated that they are not infected with COVID-19.

In other words, the “cluster” hasn’t spread to other households in the block. Yet.

Epidemiological investigations are still ongoing.

With regard to the current situation, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that more precautionary measures may need to be implemented if the number of cases continues to increase.

Another circuit breaker?

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong also previously said, “More people may be asked to go for testing, more people may be quarantined because we’re casting a wider net around every single infected case in order to more effectively ring-fence and isolate the virus and stop it from infecting other people.”

It is a relief that Singapore has enhanced testing and contact-tracing capabilities, but Mr Wong warned that we should not take all of this for granted.

“We shouldn’t push the system to its limits or take unnecessary risks. So while we have indeed enhanced our system… it requires everyone to do our part, take all the necessary precautions to stay vigilant and uphold the social distancing measures.”

Hopefully, no other case arises from the same cluster and the number of community cases that we have will drop as we all play our part.

Because have you read those reports about the virus being airborne?

‘Cluster’ in Tampines HDB Block Has 2 More Infections But Both Are from the Same Household That’s Been Infected

‘Cluster’ in Tampines HDB Block Has 2 More Infections But Both Are from the Same Household That’s Been Infected

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