2 new COVID-19 clusters including Changi General Hospital; 6 residents at Henderson Crescent block test positive

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 15 new COVID-19 cases in the community as of noon on Friday (Jun 25), including three with no links to previous cases.

Of the 12 community infections linked to previous cases, four had already been placed in quarantine and eight were detected through surveillance, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Several of the cases were linked to two new clusters identified at Changi General Hospital and 105 Henderson Crescent.

CHANGI GENERAL HOSPITAL CLUSTER

Two of the community cases were linked to a new cluster at Changi General Hospital, which has three cases in total.

The new cases were two Singaporean men, aged 67 and 72, who work as porters at the hospital. Both of their infections were detected through the hospital's surveillance testing.

Both were workplace contacts of Case 64413, a 35-year-old porter at the hospital whose infection was confirmed on Jun 23.

The 72-year-old man, who was fully vaccinated, had developed symptoms on Jun 16 but did not seek medical attention.

The 67-year-old man was asymptomatic, and had received his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

105 HENDERSON CRESCENT CLUSTER

Another new cluster was identified at 105 Henderson Crescent, following six positive cases in this block. All of their infections were detected through community surveillance testing for residents of the block.

The six cases are: A 70-year-old woman who is a retiree, a 40-year-old finance executive at ST Engineering, a 45-year-old maintenance specialist at Air Liquide, a 32-year-old part-time delivery rider with Grab and foodpanda, a 32-year-old operation manager at Green Mart SG and a 45-year-old manager at Meinhardt Group.

There were a total of 10 cases in the 105 Henderson Crescent cluster, with the earliest case being a 67-year-old retiree whose infection was confirmed on Jun 17.

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UNLINKED CASES

One of the three new unlinked cases in the community was a 32-year-old man working as an equipment specialist at Singapore General Hospital.

He developed symptoms on Jun 23 and sought medical treatment at his workplace the next day, where he tested positive. The man was fully vaccinated.

Another unlinked case involved a 31-year-old man employed by Fourways as a cleaner at National University of Singapore's Prince George's Park Residence. He was fully vaccinated.

He developed a fever on Jun 22 and sought medical treatment at the clinic the next day. His ART result was negative, but his polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test came back positive on Jun 24.

The remaining unlinked case was an 84-year-old retiree. She developed a cough on Jun 16 but did not seek medical attention.

Her infection was detected when she was taken to Singapore General Hospital on Jun 24 for an unrelated condition.

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OTHER LINKED CASES

Of the remaining four linked community cases, two were added to the 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre cluster, taking the total to 87 infections.

The two cases were a two-year-old toddler who attends Hope Child Care Centre at 3501 Jalan Bukit Merah, and an 11-year-old student at Alexandra Primary School.

A 30-year-old Indonesian maid was linked to a cluster involving another 32-year-old Indonesian domestic helper, which has seven cases in total.

The remaining linked case was a 31-year-old driver with MX Impex who was a workplace contact of an earlier case, a driver at Omni Aquatic Supplies.

LOCATIONS VISITED BY COMMUNITY CASES

IKEA Tampines, Hotel 81 Selegie and NTUC FairPrice at Eastpoint Mall appeared multiple times on MOH's list of public places visited by COVID-19 cases during their infectious period.

The Public Service Centre at Our Tampines Hub, Great World City and NTUC FairPrice outlets at Dawson Place, Tiong Bahru Plaza and 166 Bukit Merah Central were also added to the list.

The full list of new locations is as follows:

READ: COVID-19 self-test kits to be made available to residents of specific blocks in Bukit Merah and Redhill

COLLECTION OF SELF TEST KITS

From Jun 26 to Jun 27, residents of specific blocks in the Bukit Merah/Redhill region can collect antigen rapid test (ART) kits at their nearest residents' committee centre.

The ministry did not specify which blocks were included, and asked residents to check online for their eligibility.

This was an added layer of ringfencing to help identify cases and prevent further transmission in the area, said MOH.

MOH added that it was investigating multiple cases of COVID-19 infection among individuals who reside, work in or visited the area.

Separately, MOH said that all residents of 66 Eng Watt Street will undergo mandatory testing for COVID-19 after 13 cases were detected there.

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IMPORTED CASES

There were also five imported cases, all of whom had been placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.

Two were Singaporeans and two were permanent residents returning from India, Indonesia and the United Kingdom

One was a work permit holder who arrived from the Philippines.

No new infections were reported in migrant workers' dormitories.

In all, Singapore reported 20 new COVID-19 cases on Friday.

FOUR IN CRITICAL CONDITION

Twenty-one more cases have been discharged, bringing number of fully recovered to 62,161.

A total of 139 cases remain in hospital, including four in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Another 178 are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community decreased from 104 cases in the week before to 93 cases in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community increased from 14 cases in the week before to 18 cases in the past week.

Among the 131 confirmed cases reported from Jun 19 to Jun 25, 40 cases tested positive for their serology tests, 77 tested negative and 14 test results were pending.

As of Friday, Singapore has reported 62,513 COVID-19 cases and 35 fatalities. 

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