2 of the 5 Unlinked Cases Reported on 20 June Are Detected from Bukit Merah Testing

We had a brief scare after Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) ended and community cases shot up, but they finally seem to be going down again.

As long as we don’t announce any travel bubbles (especially with Hong Kong) and adhere to the rules in place, this downward trend should continue.

Yesterday (20 June), 11 new COVID-19 cases were reported, 9 of which were from the community.

Here are the details:

115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre Cluster

The Bukit Merah View market cluster continues to throw up new cases, as 3 additions were reported yesterday.

They are:

• a 63-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a warehouse assistant at SMC Manufacturing Singapore Pte Ltd
• an 86-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree
• a 35-year-old Vietnamese man who works as a stall assistant at Tiong Bahru Yong Tao Hu (56 Eng Hoon Street)

The retiree was placed on quarantine on 18 June after being identified as a household contact of a previous case.

He was tested for COVID-19 on the same day as part of the health ministry’s community surveillance testing for visitors to 115 and 116 Bukit Merah View, and his test came back negative.

Even though he was asymptomatic, he was tested again on 19 June, and this time, it returned a positive result. His serology test result is pending.

Another Linked Case

There was another case linked to previous cases but not a part of any cluster –  an 81-year-old Singaporean who is a retiree.

She developed a cough and fatigue on 18 June but did not seek medical attention. Her infection was only detected through the community surveillance testing for visitors to 115 and 116 Bukit Merah View, which took place on 19 June.

On the same day, she was placed on quarantine after she had been identified as a family member and household contact of a previous case, and she reported her symptoms.

She has tested preliminarily positive for the Delta variant and is pending further confirmatory tests.

Her serology test result is pending.

She received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 28 April and the second dose on 26 May.

Unlinked Cases

Of the 9 community cases, 5 were unlinked, namely:

• an 83-year-old Singaporean woman who is a retiree
• an 80-year-old Singaporean woman who is a retiree
•  a 22-year-old Malaysian woman who works as a dental assistant at Q&M Dental Surgery (Redhill MRT)
• a 24-year-old Singaporean male who works as a financial consultant with Prudential
• a 52-year-old male Singaporean who works as an engineer at the Housing and Development Board (HDB)

The HDB employee was tested on 19 June as part of the community surveillance testing for visitors to the Bukit Merah View area.

Later that day, he developed a fever, cough, and sore throat. His test result came back positive on 20 June, and his serology test result is pending.

The man received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on 5 June.

The dental assistant was also detected through community surveillance testing, but for those who work in the Redhill Close area.

She is asymptomatic and has been fully vaccinated.

2 Imported Cases

In addition, two infections from abroad were detected. They are:

• 1 Singaporean who returned from Saudi Arabia
• 1 Work Permit holder who arrived from Indonesia and is a foreign domestic worker

Both had already been placed on stay-home notice upon their arrival here.

142 Cases in Hospitals

At the moment, there are 142 confirmed COVID-19 cases in hospitals, of whom most are stable and improving. One is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Another 196 cases with lower risk factors or mild symptoms are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

19 more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities recently.

Featured Image: Google Maps