15 new COVID-19 community cases in Singapore; 3 new clusters identified

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 15 new COVID-19 cases in the community as of noon on Friday (May 28).

Eleven of the new infections were linked to previous cases, eight of which had been placed in quarantine. Three others were detected through surveillance.

The remaining four cases currently have no links to previous cases, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

There were also 15 imported cases, who were placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore. Eight are returning Singaporeans or permanent residents. 

No new infections were reported in migrant workers' dormitories.

In total, 30 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Singapore on Friday. Three new clusters were identified.

MCDONALD'S DELIVERY RIDER AMONG UNLINKED CASES

A 28-year-old Malaysian man who is employed by I-VIC Logistic as a delivery rider for McDonald’s (Hougang Avenue 8) is among the four unlinked cases. 

"He reported that he had not been cross-deployed to other McDonald’s outlets," said MOH.

He developed a runny nose on May 26, and was tested for COVID-19 as part of MOH's testing operations for McDonald’s delivery riders. His test result came back positive on the same day.

Among the unlinked cases reported on Friday is a 38-year-old permanent resident who works at Sri Murugan Trading (Anchorvale) and a 49-year-old permanent resident who works as a manager at Success Consultancy.

The remaining unlinked case is a 62-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree. He is fully vaccinated.

All of them developed symptoms, such as runny nose, fever, cough and loss of taste, prior to testing positive for COVID-19. 

CHEVY'S BAR AND BISTRO CLUSTER

Two new COVID-19 cases have been linked to two previously confirmed cases, forming a new cluster linked to Chevy's Bar and Bistro, which is located at Beach Road. It now has a total of four infections.

The first new case is a 55-year-old Singaporean man who is a senior officer at the National Parks Board (NParks). The man, who is fully vaccinated, is a family member of a previously confirmed case, a 58-year-old Singaporean woman who works at Chevy’s Bar and Bistro.

He was tested for COVID-19 on May 26 during quarantine and developed a cough and runny nose on the same day. His test result came back positive on May 27 and his serology test result is pending. 

The other case is a 23-year-old Singaporean man who works as a waiter at Royz Et Vouz at 39 Sultan Gate. He is a family member and household contact of another previously confirmed case known as Case 63742, a 52-year-old Singaporean woman who also works at Chevy’s Bar and Bistro.

He developed a cough on May 23 but did not seek medical treatment until May 25, when he went to a general practitioner clinic and was tested for COVID-19. As he had been identified as a close contact of Case 63742, he was placed on quarantine on May 26. 

His test result came back positive for COVID-19 on May 27 and his serology test result is pending.

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TWO OTHER NEW CLUSTERS

The other two new clusters are linked to two previously confirmed cases: Case 63714, a 74-year-old Singaporean retiree, and Case 63466, a 59-year-old Singaporean woman who works at Mary Fashion and Trading.

One new case has been linked to the Singaporean retiree. The 33-year-old Singaporean woman works as a manager at CIMB Bank (Raffles Branch) and was last at work on May 20. 

She is a family member of Case 63714 and another previously confirmed case, a 20-year-old National University of Singapore student who also works part-time at Poke Theory (Novena).

The woman was quarantined on May 24. She developed a cough and lethargy on May 25 and a fever on May 26 and reported her symptoms. She was tested for COVID-19 on May 27 during quarantine and her test result came back positive for COVID-19 on the same day. Her serology test result is pending. This new cluster currently has a total of three infections.

A 56-year-old Singaporean man who works at Chai & Chai Trading has been linked to the Case 63466 cluster, which now has a total of three infections.

He is a family member and household contact of a previously confirmed case – an 84-year-old Singaporean homemaker – and was quarantined on May 23.

He was tested for COVID-19 on May 27 and developed a cough on the same day. His test result came back positive for COVID-19 on May 28 and his serology test result is pending.

HONG YE GROUP CLEANERS CLUSTER

Three more cases have been linked to the Hong Ye Group cleaners cluster, including two students. The cluster currently has a total of nine infections. 

One of the new cases in the cluster is a 10-year-old Singaporean student at Lee Kong Chian Gardens School. The boy is a household contact of a previously confirmed case known as Case 63761, a 58-year-old Singaporean who is employed by Hong Ye Group as a cleaner at Changi Business Park.

"He developed a fever and cough on May 23 but did not seek medical attention," said MOH. 

As he had been identified as a Case 63761’s close contact, he was quarantined on May 27 and was tested for COVID-19. His test result came back positive on the same day and his serology test result is pending.

The remaining two cases were detected through surveillance.

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One of them is Case 63799, a 37-year-old Singaporean who works as a part-time cleaner at ABBA Maintenance. She is also a family member of the 58-year-old cleaner who works at Changi Business Park.

She developed a cough on May 26 and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic on May 27 where she underwent both an antigen rapid test (ART) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. 

The woman was immediately isolated when her ART result came back positive. Her PCR test result also came back positive for COVID-19 on the same day and her serology test result is pending.

The remaining case is a 12-year-old Singaporean student from New Town Primary School who was last in school on May 18. She is a household contact of Case 63799 and developed a fever, cough and runny nose on May 22 but did not seek medical attention until May 27 when she visited a general practitioner clinic. 

The girl was immediately isolated when her ART result was positive for COVID-19. Her PCR test result also came back positive for COVID-19 on the same day, and her serology test result is pending.

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MCDONALD’S DELIVERY RIDERS CLUSTER

Three more cases that were already quarantined have been linked to the McDonald’s delivery riders cluster, bringing the total number of infections in the cluster to 18. 

They are all household contacts of previously confirmed cases. 

One of them is a 33-year-old Malaysian man who works as a kitchen assistant at Pano Kato Grill, Pizza and Deli. The other two cases are a 40-year-old Singaporean woman who works at Wanderloft Capsule Hotel and a 21-year-old Malaysian man who works as a packer at DM Wines.

SINGTEL EMPLOYEE AMONG NEW CASES

The remaining linked case is a 26-year-old Singaporean woman who works as an administrative member of staff at Singtel, and was last at work on May 14. The woman is a family member and household contact of a previously confirmed case, a 27-year-old Singaporean man who works as a project manager at Fei Ying Trading Enterprise.

She was quarantined on May 24. She was asymptomatic and was detected when she was tested for COVID-19 on May 26. Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 the next day and her serology test result is pending.

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TWO CLUSTERS CLOSED

MOH also announced the closure of two clusters as there have been no more cases linked to them for the past 28 days.

One of the clusters is linked to a National University of Singapore researcher, while the other is linked to an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officer.

IMPORTED CASES

The imported cases include two Singaporeans and six permanent residents who returned from India and the Philippines.

Six are work permit holders who arrived from Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, of whom three are foreign domestic workers.

The remaining imported case is a short-term visit pass holder who arrived from Indonesia for a work project in Singapore.

3 PATIENTS IN ICU

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 196 cases in the week before to 137 cases in the past week. 

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased from 46 cases in the week before to 23 cases in the past week.

Among the 200 cases reported from May 22 to May 28, 38 cases have tested positive for their serology tests, 111 have tested negative, and 51 serology test results are pending.