1 of the Unlinked Cases Reported on 25 May is a Bubble Tea Employee

There is no Singapore COVID-19 variant roaming around at the moment, but when the coronavirus entered Singapore’s borders, it started exhibiting characteristics commonly associated with Singaporeans.

This is why it started hanging out at shopping malls, eateries, and airports – the places where Singaporean can engage in their favourite activities.

Now, it’s reached a bubble tea store.

1 of the Unlinked Cases Reported on 25 May is a Bubble Tea Employee

21 new community cases were reported yesterday, of whom six are unlinked. They are:

• A 29-year-old male Malaysia national who works at Tiger Sugar Bubble Tea (Holland Piazza)
• A 15-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at Westwood Secondary School and was last in school on 18 May
• A 27-year-old male Singaporean who works as a project manager at Fei Ying Trading Enterprise
• A 27-year-old male Malaysia national who works as a housekeeper at Sengkang General Hospital
• A 74-year-old male Singaporean who is a retiree
• A 50-year-old male Singaporean who works as an engineer at Tektronix Southeast Asia Pte Ltd

The bubble tea store employee developed a fever and sore throat on 21 May and sought medical treatment at a General Practitioner (GP) clinic on the same day.

He was tested for COVID-19 and test result came back positive on 24 May. His serology test result is negative.

JEM/Westgate Cluster

The cluster at JEM/Westgate continues to grow, with two new additions reported yesterday.

They are:

• A 13-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at Kranji Secondary School and had last gone to school on 17 May
• A 7-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at Rulang Primary School and had last gone to school on 14 May

Both students are family members of previous cases.

The 7-year-old was placed on quarantine on 17 May and when tested on 19 May for COVID-19, his test returned a negative result.

He then developed a fever on 23 May and reported his symptom. He was tested for COVID-19 again on 23 May and this time, his test result came back positive. His serology test result is pending.

Learning Point Cluster

One new community case has been linked to the Learning Point Tuition Centre cluster, namely a 44-year-old female Singaporean who works at Citibank.

She was placed on quarantine on 17 May after being identified as a family member and household contact of a previous case.

She was tested for COVID-19 on 17 May and 20 May, but her test results were negative.

She then developed a sore throat on 23 May and was tested again for COVID-19 on 24 May. This time her test result came back positive. Her serology test result is negative.

Fortunately, the woman has been working from home since 17 April.

McDonald’s Delivery Riders Cluster

Three of the community cases reported yesterday have been linked to the McDonald’s riders at Pasir Ris Elias Community Centre.

They are:

•  A 25-year-old male Malaysia national who works as a delivery rider for Domino’s Pizza (Tanjong Katong)
•  A 72-year-old female Singaporean who works as a kitchen staff at McDonald’s (Pasir Ris Elias Community Club)
• A 32-year-old male Singaporean who works as a kitchen staff for McDonald’s (Bedok Reservoir)

The 72-year-old is asymptomatic and was arranged by her company to be tested for COVID-19 on 21 May.

She was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive on 24 May. Her serology test result is pending.

New Cluster

A new cluster linked to Case 63660 – a 31-year-old male Singaporean who works as a property agent with ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd and was reported on 23 May – has formed after three cases were linked to him.

They are:

• A 60-year-old male Singaporean who is a retiree
• A 57-year-old female Singaporean who works as a retail vendor at Chong Pang City
• A 30-year-old male Singaporean who is self-employed and works from home

The 60-year-old is a family member and household contact of a previous case. He developed a cough on 17 May but did not seek medical treatment.

As he had been identified as a close contact, he was placed on quarantine on 23 May. He was tested for COVID-19 on the same day during quarantine, and his test result came back positive the next day. His serology result is negative.

Besides this, two other clusters linked to specific COVID-19 cases had one more infection linked to it, namely:

• A 40-year-old male Myanmar national who works as a technician at Greenland Technology Pte Ltd
• a 6-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at My First Skool at 211 Jurong East Street 21

The 6-year-old is a family member of two previous cases and was placed on quarantine on 21 May. He is part of a new cluster.

He was asymptomatic when he tested positive for COVID-19 on 24 May. His serology test result is pending.

The last case with known links is a 46-year-old female Singaporean who works as a secretary at Prestige Legal LLP. She is a family member and household contact of a previous case.

New Cluster at Woodlands Dormitory

While we’ve been largely worried about infections in the community, the coronavirus is always looking for more ways to torment us.

This is why a new cluster at Harvest @ Woodlands – a dormitory located at 280 Woodlands Industrial Park E5 – has formed.

Three cases – Cases 63696, 63697 and 63698 – are roommates of Case 63622 – a 46-year-old Malaysian man who resides at the dormitory and who tested positive for COVID-19 on 22 May. He works as a construction worker at H&W Communications.

All three cases also work in the same firm as construction workers.

Their earlier tests from rostered routine testing – the last of which was on 8 May – were negative, but all three tested positive on Monday (24 May).

There is some good news, though. The cluster at Westlite Woodlands Dormitory is now closed as there have been no new cases linked to it for the past 28 days.

9 Imported Cases

In addition to the 21 community infections, 9 more cases were reported, all from abroad.

They are:

• 2 Singaporeans and 1 Singapore Permanent Resident who returned from India, Indonesia, and Myanmar

• 1 Dependant’s Pass holder who arrived from the US

• 1 Work Pass holder who arrived from the Philippines

• 3 Work Permit holders who arrived from Indonesia and the Philippines, all of whom are foreign domestic workers
• 1 Short-Term Visit Pass holder who arrived from Papua New Guinea to visit his Singapore family member

All 9 cases had been placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore, and were tested during quarantine.

250 Confirmed Cases in Hospitals

There are currently 250 confirmed cases in hospitals, most of whom are stable or improving. 2 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Another 279 with lower risk factors and mild symptoms are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

13 more cases of COVID-19 infection were discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities recently.

Featured Image: Jo Panuwat D / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purpose only)