10 NEW CASES OF LOCALLY TRANSMITTED COVID-19 INFECTION

          As of 12 May 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified that there are 10 new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection, of whom 9 are linked to previous cases. The cases are in the community, and there are no new cases in the dormitories. There are 6 imported cases, who had already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore. Amongst the new cases today, 8 are asymptomatic, and were detected from our proactive screening and surveillance, while 8 were symptomatic. 

Summary of new cases

2.         Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 62 cases in the week before to 49 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has increased from 7 cases in the week before to 12 cases in the past week. We will continue to closely monitor these numbers, as well as the cases detected through our surveillance programme.

3.         Amongst the 151 confirmed cases reported from 6 May to 12 May, 69 cases have tested positive for their serology tests, 66 have tested negative, and 16 serology test results are pending.

Case Details

a)         Cases in the community: 10

There are 10 cases in the community today, of whom 9 are linked to previous cases and 1 is currently unlinked.

Case 63096

Case 63096 is a 33 year-old male Philippines national who works as an operating theatre nurse at Sengkang General Hospital. 

He developed a runny nose on 9 May night, cough on 10 May night, and subsequently fever, sore throat, shortness of breath and loss of taste on 11 May. He was tested for COVID-19 on 10 May as part of Sengkang General Hospital’s proactive testing of staff and his test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 11 May. His serology test result is positive. Case 63096 received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 19 January, and the second dose on 8 February. He has tested preliminarily positive for the B.1.617 variant, and is pending further confirmatory tests.

Case 62969^[1] cluster

Case 63092

Case 63092 is a 36 year-old female Vietnam national who is a Short-Term Visit Pass holder. She is a household contact of Cases 62969 and 63083^[2].

She arrived from Vietnam on 12 April, and served SHN at a dedicated facility until 26 April. Her pre-departure test taken in Vietnam on 10 April was negative for COVID-19 infection, as was a test taken during SHN on 25 April. As she had been identified as a close contact of Case 62969, she was placed on quarantine on 8 May, and tested for COVID-19 on 10 May during quarantine. Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection the next day. Her serology test result is negative.

Case 62873^[3] cluster

Case 63091

Case 63091 is a 24 year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Huawei Enterprise as an IT engineer and works at Changi Airport Terminal 4. He had been at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on 28 April and 3 May. He had not gone to work after onset of symptoms.

He developed a fever on 7 May which subsided on the same day with self-medication. The next day, his fever returned at night and resolved with self-medication again. On 9 May, he sought medical treatment at a General Practitioner (GP) clinic and was diagnosed with tonsilitis. He developed a fever later on the same day, and sought treatment at another GP clinic that evening where he was tested for COVID-19. His test result came back positive on 11 May. His serology test result is pending.

Case 63094

Case 63094 is a 39 year-old male Singaporean who works as an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

He is asymptomatic, and was detected when he was tested on 9 May as part of Rostered Routine Testing (RRT). His pooled test result came back positive for COVID-19 the next day. He was conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on 10 May, and an individual test was done. His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 11 May. His earlier tests from RRT – the last being on 12 April – were all negative for COVID-19 infection. His serology test result is negative for the N antigen, which suggests the presence of early infection. Case 63094 received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 17 January, and the second dose on 7 February. He has tested preliminarily positive for the B.1.617 variant, and is pending further confirmatory tests.

Case 63095

Case 63095 is a 38 year-old female Singaporean who works as an ICA officer at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

She was detected when she was tested on 9 May as part of RRT. Her pooled test result came back positive for COVID-19 the next day and she was conveyed to NCID on 10 May, where an individual test was done. Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 11 May. On the same day, she developed a runny nose. Her earlier tests from RRT – the last being on 15 April – were all negative for COVID-19 infection. Her serology test result is negative for the N antigen, which suggests the presence of early infection. Case 63095 received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 30 January, and the second dose on 20 February. She has tested preliminarily positive for the B.1.617 variant, and is pending further confirmatory tests.

Case 63097

Case 63097 is a 62 year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services Pte Ltd as a cleaner and trolley handler at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

As he had been identified as a contact of Case 62940^[4], he was placed on quarantine on 8 May. On 9 May, he developed a runny nose during quarantine, and was tested for COVID-19 the next day. His test result came back positive on 11 May. His serology test result is pending. Case 63097 received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 22 January, and the second dose on 14 February.

Case 63098

Case 63098 is a 28 year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Certis Cisco as an aviation security officer at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He had not gone to work after onset of symptoms.

He developed a fever, sore throat and body aches on 7 May and sought medical treatment at a polyclinic the next day where he was tested for COVID-19. His result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 11 May. His earlier tests from RRT – the last being on 3 May – were all negative for COVID-19 infection. His serological test result is pending.

Case 63100

Case 63100 is a 65 year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services Pte Ltd as a cleaner at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

He developed a runny nose on 6 May but did not seek medical treatment. As he had been identified as a close contact of Case 62873, he was placed on quarantine on 9 May but did not report his symptom. He was tested for COVID-19 on 11 May during quarantine. On the same day, he developed a headache and runny nose. His test result came back positive on 11 May. His serology test result is negative. Case 63100 received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 25 January, and the second dose on 18 February. He has tested preliminarily positive for the B.1.617 variant, and is pending further confirmatory tests.

Case 63109

Case 63109 is a 42 year-old male Singaporean who works as a sales associate at a retail store at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

He developed a cough and itchy throat on 9 May while at work and sought medical treatment at a GP clinic the next day. He was given 5 days’ medical leave, and tested for COVID-19 the next day. His test result came back positive on 12 May. His earlier tests from RRT – the last being on 14 April – were all negative for COVID-19 infection. His serology test result is pending. Case 63109 received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 28 February, and the second dose on 21 March. 

Update on Case 63005

Our epidemiological investigations have found that Case 63005^[5] is linked to the Case 62873 cluster. He had been at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on 3 May and 4 May, and had visited the same locations as Cases 62940 and 62942^[6] during their infectious period. He was likely to have been infected while he was at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

Additional Precautionary Measures at Changi Airport

With the detection of more COVID-19 cases and ongoing special testing operations of all workers in Changi Airport’s Terminals 1 and 3, and Jewel Changi Airport, Changi Airport Passenger Terminal Buildings will be closed to all members of the public starting from 13 May and re-open 14 days later, on 27 May. In addition, Jewel will be closed for 14 days over the same period. We urge all airport workers as well as staff working in Jewel to refrain from going out except for essential work or activities for the next 14 days. They should also not be redeployed to other workplaces or outlets during this period.

To pre-emptively mitigate any potential risk of wider, undetected community transmission, we will offer free COVID-19 testing for members of the public who had visited Changi Airport Terminal 3 from 3 May onwards. MOH will progressively inform these individuals via SMS notification with information on how to book an appointment for their test. All visitors to Changi Airport Terminal 1 and Jewel from 3 May onwards are also advised to monitor their health closely for 14 days from their date of visit. They are strongly encouraged to visit a Regional Screening Centre or “Swab and Send Home” (SASH) Public Health Preparedness Clinic for a free COVID-19 test if they feel unwell.

Case 62541^[7] Cluster

Case 63104

Case 63104 is a 64 year-old female Singaporean who had been warded in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) Ward 9D from 26 April, and was transferred to NCID on 28 April. As she had been identified as a close contact of Case 62541, she was placed on quarantine on 29 April. She was tested for COVID-19 on 26 April, 28 April and 30 April, and the results were negative. She was discharged on 2 May and continue to be on quarantine. She was tested for COVID-19 on 11 May during quarantine. Her test result came back positive on the same day. Her serology test result is negative for the N antigen, which suggests the presence of early infection.

b)         Cases residing in dormitories: 0

There are no cases residing in dormitories today.

c)         Imported cases: 6

Amongst the 6 imported cases,

•           1 (Case 63103) is a Singaporean and 1 (Case 63106) is a Singapore Permanent Resident who returned from India.
•           3 (Cases 63093, 63105 and 63108) are Work Pass holders who arrived from Malaysia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
•           1 (Case 63111) is a Work Permit holder who arrived from the Philippines and is a foreign domestic worker.

They had all already been placed on SHN upon arrival in Singapore and were tested while serving SHN. The arrivals from the Indian sub-continent had already come into Singapore before the restrictions on travel were imposed ^[8].

4.         Please refer to the Annexes and MOH’s daily Situation Report (www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19/situation-report) for details.

5.         Epidemiological investigations are in progress. In the meantime, all the identified close contacts of the cases have been isolated and placed on quarantine, and will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine period so that we can detect asymptomatic cases. We will also conduct serological tests for the close contacts to determine if the cases could have been infected by them.

Update on condition of confirmed cases

6.         31 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 61,006 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

7.         There are currently 143 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and 3 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. 239 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.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
12 MAY 2021

^[1]  Case 62969 is a 38 year-old male Singaporean who works as a private hire car driver with Grab. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 8 May.
^[2]  Case 63083 is a 72 year-old male Singaporean who is a retiree. He is a family member and household contact of Case 62969. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 11 May.
^[3]  Case 62873 is an 88 year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services Pte Ltd as a cleaner at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 5 May.
^[4]  Case 62940 is a 47 year-old male Work Permit holder who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services Pte Ltd as a cleaner at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 7 May.
^[5]  Case 63005 is a 47 year-old male Singaporean who works as a landscaper at NParks. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 8 May.
^[6]  Case 62942 is a 33 year-old male Singaporean who works as a safety coordinator at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 7 May.
^[7]  Case 62541 is a 46 year-old nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), and is deployed at Ward 9D. She was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 27 April.
^[8]  From 23 April 2021, 2359 hours, all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history (including transit) to India within the last 14 days will not be allowed entry into Singapore, or transit through Singapore. From 1 May 2021, 2359 hours, all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history (including transit) to Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka within the last 14 days will not be allowed entry into Singapore, or transit through Singapore.