Unlinked Cases Reported on 26 May Include a McDonald’s Staff Member in Woodlands

Much like a bubble tea store in Singapore, a new COVID-19 cluster seems to be popping up every few days.

Three more clusters formed recently, all in the community.

In total, 23 community cases were reported yesterday, of whom 3 are unlinked. Here are the details.

Unlinked Cases Reported Include a McDonald’s Staff Member in Woodlands

The three cases with no known links include a man who works at McDonald’s outlet at The Woodgrove.

The 24-year-old Malaysian developed a runny nose on 24 May and sought medical treatment at a GP clinic on the same day.

His test result came back positive two days later, and his serology test result is pending.

In addition, two other community cases reported yesterday were unlinked. They are:

•  a 58-year-old female Singaporean who works at Chevy’s Bar and Bistro
• a 38-year-old male Malaysia national who works at Rong Chang F&B Services Pte Ltd

Hong Ye Group Cleaners Cluster

The first new cluster is linked to cleaners at Hong Ye Group. The cluster now has three cases including its latest addition, a 25-year-old female who also works there as a cleaner.

She was placed on quarantine on 22 May after being identified as close contact of a previous case.

She developed a fever on 25 May, and was tested for COVID-19 on the same day during quarantine. Her test result came back positive the next day. Her serology test result is negative.

She was last at work on 22 May.

Case 63708 Cluster

Another new cluster was identified yesterday after one more COVID-19 case was linked to Case 63708 – a 15-year-old Westwood Secondary School student.

The latest case is a 74-year-old male Malaysian national who is a retiree.

He is a family member and household contact of a previous case and was placed on quarantine on 25 May.

He developed a cough and fever on the same day, and was tested positive for COVID-19 on the same day.

His serology test result is negative.

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

Case 63515 Cluster

The third new cluster is linked to Case 63515 – a 34-year-old Singaporean man who works as a technician at the Singapore Refining Company.

Yesterday, a 2-year-old female Singaporean who is a student at My First Skool at 331 Sembawang Close was found to be linked to the cluster.

She is a family member and household contact of Cases 63515 and another previous case.

She developed a fever on 19 May, but was not brought to a medical facility for treatment. She was placed on quarantine on 20 May after being identified as a family member of previous cases.

She was tested for COVID-19 during quarantine on 25 May, and her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on the same day. Her serology result is pending.

JEM/ Westgate Cluster

One cluster that has grown consistently in recent days is the JEM/Westgate cluster. 7 more infections were linked to it yesterday, namely:

• a 29-year-old male Singaporean who works as a technician at Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd
• an 18-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at ITE College West and was last in school on 14 May
• a 67-year-old male Singaporean who works as a delivery driver for DCH Auriga (Singapore) Pte Ltd, and frequently delivered goods at JEM and Westgate shopping malls
• a 28-year-old female Singaporean who works as a hairdresser at Kimage Hair Salon (Lot 1), and had visited JEM shopping mall on 9 May
• a 30-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who works as a pastor at Grace Assembly of God church
•  an 11-year-old male Singaporean and a 6-year-old female Singaporean who are  students at Concord Primary School and had last gone to school on 17 May

Changi Prison Complex Cluster

A 49-year-old male is the latest inmate at Changi Prison Complex to test positive for COVID-19.

He was placed on quarantine after being identified as close contact of a previous case, and was tested five times over the next 8 days. All tests returned negative results.

But when he was tested for COVID-19 again on 24 May, his test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection. He also developed diarrhoea the next day.

His serology test result is pending.

Learning Point Tuition Centre Cluster

The cluster at Learning Point Tuition centre had a new addition as well, but this time, it’s not a student.

The latest case is a 35-year-old female Thailand national who works as a staff at Santai Café at United World College.

She is a family member and household contact of a previous case and was placed on quarantine on 23 May.

She developed a sore throat, body aches, and headache on 24 May and tested positive for COVID-19 the next day. Her serology test result is negative.

Marina Bay Sands Casino Dealer Cluster

Yet another dealer at the Marina Bay Sands Casino has tested positive, bringing the cluster’s total tally to 7.

The latest case is a 36-year-old male Malaysian national who is a household contact of three previous cases.

He was last at work on 14 May and was placed on quarantine on 16 May.

He developed a headache and fever on 24 May, and was swabbed for COVID-19 on 25 May during quarantine after reporting his symptoms.

His test result came back positive on the same day. His serology test result is pending.

McDonald’s Delivery Riders Cluster

Two new infections were linked to the cluster involving McDonald’s delivery riders at Pasir Ris Elias Community Club, namely:

•  a 41-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who works as a receptionist at Wanderloft Hostel, and a part-time waitress at Collins (Nex)
• a 58-year-old female Singaporean who works as a kitchen staff and service crew at McDonald’s (Pasir Ris Elias Community Club)

The 58-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 25 May. Her serology test result is pending.

The woman received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 3 May. She was last at work on 19 May.

Case 63236 Cluster

The Case 63236 cluster –  which is linked to a 53-year-old male Singaporean who works as a personal chauffeur – had yet another community case linked to it yesterday.

The new case is a 31-year-old male Hong Kong citizen who works as a senior executive at Endowus.

He is a family member and household contact of previous cases and was placed on quarantine on 14 May.

He was tested for COVID-19 on 16 May but his result came back negative.

After being identified as a household contact of two other cases, his quarantine was extended twice.

He was tested for COVID-19 again on 21 May and 23 May, but once again, they were both negative.

He then developed a cough on 24 May and was tested for a fourth time on the same day when he reported his symptom.

This time, his test result came back positive. His serology test result is negative.

Other Cases With Known Links

Besides the infections linked to clusters, there were four cases with established links to previous cases.

They are:

•  a 64-year-old female Singaporean who is a homemaker
•  a 52-year-old female Singaporean who works as a serving staff at Chevy’s Bar and Bistro
•  a 20-year-old female Singaporean who is a student at the National University of Singapore, and works part-time at Poke Theory (Novena)
•  a 38-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who works at Tektronix Southeast Asia Pte Ltd

1 Dormitory Case

As the coronavirus is always looking for more ways to torment us, it has once again made its way to a dormitory.

The lone dormitory case is a 22-year-old male Indian national who works as a general worker at H&W Communications Pte Ltd.

He is linked to the cluster at Harvest @ Woodlands and was placed on quarantine on 22 May after being identified as a roommate of a previous case.

He is asymptomatic, and was detected after he tested positive on 24 May.

His earlier tests from rostered routine testing – the last being on 12 May – were all negative for COVID-19 infection. His serology test result is negative as well.

2 Imported Cases

As the number of community cases fluctuates, our imported cases seem to be dwindling, as just two were reported yesterday.

They are:

• 1 Work Permit holder who arrived from Indonesia and is a foreign domestic worker
• 1 Short-Term Visit Pass holder who arrived from the UAE to visit his Singaporean family member

Both had been placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore.

242 Cases in Hospitals

At the moment, there are 242 confirmed COVID-19 cases still in hospitals, most of whom are stable or improving. 2 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

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

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

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