While everyone is focused on the major restructure of SPH, life has to go on. And life hasn’t been kind.

As of 12pm today (7 May), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed 25 new cases of COVID-19 infection.

4 are community cases.

This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 61,311.

Based on yesterday’s figures, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 28 cases in the week before to 48 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at 7 cases per week in the past 2 weeks.

Unlinked Changi Airport Cleaner & NSF Among Community Cases Reported on 6 May

And that seems to be what happened with an 88-year-old Singaporean man recently.

He was one of two community cases reported yesterday (6 May).

He is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services and works as a cleaner at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

The man developed a cough and runny nose on Tuesday (4 May) and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic on the same day, where he underwent a COVID-19 test.

His test result came back positive on Wednesday and he was taken to Sengkang General Hospital.

The 88-year-old had been tested several times earlier as part of rostered routine testing – the last of which was on 16 Apr – and all had come back negative.

The man had already completed his vaccination regimen, receiving his first dose on 22 Jan and second on 15 Feb.

His serological test is still pending, so it’s too soon to say determine if the infection is a fresh one.

The second community case is a 22-year-old full time national serviceman (NSF) with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The Permanent Resident is linked to the Pasir Panjang Terminal cluster, which now has a total of 5 cases.

He is a household contact of a 59-year-old trailer truck driver who was reported to have COVID-19 on Wednesday.

The NSF was immediately isolated in Sembawang camp when authorities detected the infection of the trailer truck driver, before being placed under quarantine.

Even though he displayed no symptoms, he was tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday and the result came back positive the next day. He was immediately taken to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital.

His serology test result is negative, indicating a fresh infection.

As a precautionary measure, SAF has carried out thorough disinfection of the areas the serviceman had been in and tested and quarantined all personnel who had been identified as close contacts.

The remaining 16 infections reported yesterday were all from abroad and were placed on stay-home notice on arrival in Singapore.

382 Active Cases

There are currently 120 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and 1 is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

262 are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.

31 have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

Featured Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com (Image for illustration purpose only)