While the number of COVID-19 cases has thankfully come down in the past few days, we can never be too cautious about tackling the spread.

Apart from all the mask-wearing, swab testing and trace together-ing, mandatory block testing is something new we’ve seen in Phase 1.5.

On Monday night (7 Jun), the Ministry of Health announced that it will be conducting polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for all residents of Block 325A Sumang Walk in Punggol. This comes after eight community cases, from three different households, were found there.

Testing will be done at the pavilion of Block 324 Sumang Walk on 8 and 9 June, from 9:00am to 4:00pm.

In addition, the ministry encouraged those who visited the block from 10 May to 5 June to undergo the PCR test.

“In the event that a positive COVID-19 case is detected, MOH will isolate the case, identify all close contacts, test and quarantine them to protect the community from further transmission,” MOH explained.

It added that residents should minimise social interactions as much as possible when they are waiting for their test results. They should also continue to monitor their health and seek immediate medical attention if they feel unwell.

So far, those affected have been informed of the testing routine through SMS notifications and leaflets. They have been allocated time slots and were instructed to bring along their national registration identity card for identification.

Dr Janil Puthucheary, who oversees the affected block as a Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency, will be at the swabbing location on Tuesday.

In his Facebook post, he reassured that residents of the surrounding blocks would not need to go for testing unless they had visited someone from Block 325A.

The town council and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have already conducted a thorough cleaning and disinfection of the common areas at Blk 325A and the surrounding blocks.

Dr Janil also thanked the involved organisations for their efforts in facilitating the swabbing operation in such a short period of time.

“Let’s do our part and make Punggol safe for all of us. Stay home as far as possible and seek medical attention promptly if you are unwell,” he wrote.

Read his full post, here:

Block 325A Sumang Walk Cases

As reported by The Straits Times, the latest of the eight cases in the block is a 13-year-old student from Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School.

She was the only unlinked COVID-19 reported two days ago.

The young teenager developed anosmia—the loss of one’s sense of smell—on 29 May but did not seek medical treatment until 4 June when she visited a GP clinic.

She was tested for COVID-19 and her test result came back positive the next day. Her serology test result is pending.

As for the other cases, four cases from the same household were confirmed on 17 and 20 May, while another three cases from a different unit were confirmed on 21 and 22 May.

Featured Image: Facebook (Janil Puthucheary)