New Minister Explains Why There Have Been Many New Infections in Dorm Even When They’re ‘Cleared’

As we’ve learned, saying a place has been “cleared” of Covid-19 is like a Singaporean saying they’ve had their last cup of bubble tea; it means nothing.

After covering nearly every inch of this island, making sure to infect as many people as possible, the coronavirus is revisiting places it had previously been, presumably out of nostalgia.

Does this mean that getting rid of Covid-19 before a vaccine is readily available will be essentially impossible?

Well, our chances seem to be decreasing with each passing day.

MOH: About 45 Workers Living In Already-Cleared Dormitories Test Positive For Covid-19 Every Day

An average of 45 workers have been testing positive for the coronavirus every day, revealed the Ministry of Health (MOH).

The statement comes after reports emerged of new Covid-19 clusters in migrant worker dormitories that were already cleared of the disease.

Wait, if they were already cleared, how were the new infections detected?

Well, magic, of course.

Ok, not really.

See, the gahmen happens to be as kiasu as us, which really comes in handy during a pandemic.

Despite the fact that all dormitories were cleared, the authorities made sure to carry out surveillance testing, such as rostered routine testing (RRT).

In addition to dormitory residents, all those who work in the construction, marine and process sectors have to be tested as part of the RRT.

No cases of reinfection have been reported so far. Rather, workers who previously tested negative for the virus may have contracted it later on.

The authorities will also implement aggressive tracing and testing, whenever a new case is detected.

According to The Straits Times, 2% of the newly detected cases tested positive for serological tests – tests which detect antibodies – meaning they had past infections.

Not Because Of ‘Inaccurate Covid-19 Tests’

You probably have this niggling doubt in your mind.

If 2% of newly-detected Covid-19 cases in dormitories had past infections, doesn’t it mean they were already infected when the ministries said, all-clear?

So if that’s the case, is there a problem with Singapore’s Covid-19 tests?

The answer, according to Dr Tan See Leng, Second Minister for Manpower and also one of PAP’s new faces in GE2020, is no.

For those wondering who he is and why he’s qualified to speak about Covid-19 tests, he has spent more than 30 years as managing director and chief executive officer of IHH Healthcare.

The PCR test, he said, is merely a ‘snapshot’ of what happened at a “particular point in time”.

When the workers were tested for Covid-19, and cleared, it could be that the concentration of the virus had not reached the level of being detected yet.

Think of it as a cockroach infestation in your house.

You only see them nasty buggers crawling around in the day after their numbers have reached a critical stage. But before that, there could be one or two sneaking around at night and you didn’t know about it.

He added that a percentage of cases are asymptomatic, which is probably why they were not detected at that point in time.

That’s why, he said, they’re implementing more measures to snap up such cases in dormitories.

Three-pronged Strategy To Detect New Cases in Dorms

The Ministry of Manpower said it has put in place a three-pronged strategy to detect new infections and contain them quickly.

Firstly, to prevent new clusters from forming, dormitory operators have to carry out the following physical distancing measures before dormitory residents are allowed to return to work:

• limiting inter-mingling of residents in rooms, levels, blocks, as well as in common facilities and during transport to and from worksites
• monitoring their residents’ health
• ensuring that residents who are unwell are isolated and provided with medical treatment

Second, to detect new cases, the RRT is conducted for dorm residents every 14 days, and wastewater (i.e poop) at selected dormitories is also tested for traces of the virus.

Workers have been told to monitor their health and those who report symptoms of acute respiratory illnesses are closely observed at medical posts.

Lastly, once a new infection is detected, close contacts will be isolated and have to test negative after their quarantine period before returning to work.

Yes, I wasn’t kidding when I said the authorities are as kiasu as us. But during a pandemic, when you can’t be too careful, this is certainly a good thing.

Unfortunately, despite the government’s best efforts, new clusters have popped up in 16 dorms lately, the most recent of which is the S11 Dormitory @ Punggol.

Read Also: 3 Locations In NTU Reported By MOH Was Visited By a Former NTU Staff Who Didn’t Know Where He Got Infected