Over a week ago, we were all celebrating our victory over the coronavirus.
However, just like all other victories in the pandemic, this one may have been premature.
Two new COVID-19 clusters have formed, one in Redhill, and 15 new community cases were reported yesterday (22 Jun).
Here are the details.
3 Cases From 2 New COVID-19 Clusters
The first new COVID-19 cluster is at 90 Redhill Close.
It includes one unlinked case and two linked infections, namely:
- A 69-year-old Singaporean woman who is a retiree
- A 50-year-old Singaporean woman who is currently unemployed
- A 79-year-old male Singaporean who is a retiree (unlinked)
According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the unlinked case was detected through community surveillance testing for residents of the Redhill Close area.
Before detection, he developed a fever and cough on 21 June but did not seek medical attention.
The other new COVID-19 cluster is the Case 64233 cluster, originating from a 41-year-old Filipino foreign domestic worker who tested positive on 14 June.
One new case was linked to her, namely a 52-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who works as a consultant at Syndicate Road Pte Ltd. He is a household contact of Case 64233.
115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre Cluster
Meanwhile, our biggest cluster, the Bukit Merah View market cluster, continues to grow, as three new additions were reported yesterday.
They are:
- An 11-year-old Singaporean woman who is a student at Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (Kellock) and had last gone to school on 18 May
- A 32-year-old Singaporean man who is currently unemployed
- A 43-year-old Malaysian man who works as a stall assistant at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre
The 11-year-old was placed on quarantine on 19 June after being identified as a family member and household contact of a previous case.
She developed a fever on 21 June and reported her symptom. She was tested during quarantine on 21 June, and her test result came back positive. Her serology test result is pending.
The cluster now has 81 cases.
119 & 121 Bukit Merah View Clusters
One new case each was linked to the recently formed clusters at 119 Bukit Merah View and 121 Bukit Merah View clusters.
They are:
- A 74-year-old Singaporean man who is employed by Theng Liang Lee Services Pte Ltd as a part-time cleaner at 104 Henderson Crescent (119 Bukit Merah View cluster)
- A 62-year-old Singaporean women who works as a part-time cook at Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre (121 Bukit Merah View cluster)
The 62-year-old was last at work on 6 June and has been fully vaccinated, having received her first dose on 10 April, and her second dose on 1 May.
Other Linked & Remaining 2 Unlinked Cases
The two remaining linked cases not connected to any clusters include a 24-year-old Chinese woman who works as an analyst at Axis Specialty Limited, and a 23-year-old Singaporean man who is a student at Singapore Institute of Management (SIM).
Of the 15 infections from the community, five had no established links to previous cases. They are:
- A 26-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who works as an analyst at Deutsche Bank
- A 77-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree
- A 79-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree
- An 82-year-old Singaporean woman who is a retiree
- A 36-year-old Malaysian man who works as a driver at Omni Aquatic Supplies Pte Ltd
The bank employee is a household contact of a previous case. She developed a fever and sore throat on 15 June, and subsequently a runny nose and cough on 17 June.
She sought medical treatment at a GP clinic on 17 June but declined to be tested for COVID-19. So, she was given 5 days’ medical leave and advised to self-isolate.
After her household contact tested positive for COVID-19 infection on 21 June, she visited a GP clinic on the same day, and underwent both an Antigen Rapid Test (ART) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test.
Both tests returned positive results. Her serology test result is pending.
3 Imported Cases
In addition to the community infections, three infections from abroad were detected.
They are:
- One Singaporean and one Singapore Permanent Resident who returned from India
- One Special Pass holder who is a sea crew. He arrived from Brazil on a vessel and had remained onboard until he was conveyed to a hospital.
All three cases had been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival here.
142 Cases in Hospitals
At the moment, there are 142 COVID-19 cases in hospitals, most of whom are stable or improving. 2 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Another 173 cases with lower risk factors and mild symptoms are isolated and cared for at community facilities.
28 more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities recently.
Feature Image: Google Maps
