7 new community COVID-19 cases in Singapore, including 3 workers at Changi Airport

SINGAPORE: Seven community cases were among the 20 new COVID-19 infections reported in Singapore as of noon on Saturday (May 8).

Two of the seven cases are linked to the cluster involving workers at Pasir Panjang Terminal and had already been placed on quarantine.  

The other five cases are currently unlinked, including three people who work at Changi Airport, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). 

The remaining 13 cases are imported and were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore, said the ministry.

CLUSTER INVOLVING PASIR PANJANG TERMINAL WORKERS

The two cases linked to the cluster are a 27-year-old car groomer and a 54-year-old car mechanic. 

Both cases are family and household contacts of three previous cases, including Case 62824 - a Singaporean trailer truck driver at Brani Terminal and Pasir Panjang Terminal who tested positive on May 4. 

READ: 2 more COVID-19 cases linked to Pasir Panjang Terminal cluster, including SAF contractor

The 27-year-old car groomer, a work permit holder, works at BlackNano at Bukit Batok but does not typically interact with customers, said MOH. 

The 54-year-old car mechanic, a permanent resident, works at Jag Technical Services at New Upper Changi Road. 

"His work entails occasionally going to Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) camps for servicing and repair of vehicles but he did not interact with any SAF personnel," said MOH. 

He is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, having received his first dose on Mar 6 and the second on Mar 27. 

Both of the new cases were asymptomatic. They were swabbed on May 6 during quarantine and their test results came back positive the next day. 

CHANGI AIRPORT WORKERS

Of the three cases who work at Changi Airport, one is a 47-year-old cleaner deployed at Terminal 3. The work permit holder was fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

He is asymptomatic and was detected when he was swabbed on May 5 as part of rostered routine testing. His pooled test result came back positive on the same day. An individual test was done on May 6 and the positive result was confirmed on May 7.

His serology test result has come back positive, but MOH said it has assessed that this is likely a recent infection.

READ: Another cleaner, aviation officer among 3 more workers at Changi Airport to test positive for COVID-19

Another case involves a 33-year-old Singaporean who is a safety coordinator employed by Shimizu Corporation and deployed at Terminal 3. His work does not entail interaction with passengers, said MOH. 

He was swabbed as part of routine testing on May 4 and developed a fever after work on May 5.

He sought medical treatment at a clinic the next day, where he was tested for COVID-19. The test result came back positive on May 7. His serology test result is negative. 

The third case is a 57-year-old Singaporean who is an aviation officer at Terminal 1 and 3. His work involves screening departing and transiting passengers. 

He was swabbed as part of routine testing on May 5. He developed a sore throat in the evening but did not seek medical treatment.

"He went to work the next day, and his sore throat worsened," said MOH.

On May 7, his pooled test result came back positive for COVID-19, and so did his individual test result. His serology test is pending.

"Given the recent cases who work at Changi Airport, as a precautionary measure MOH will commence special testing operations for all staff working at Changi Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, and Jewel," said the ministry on Saturday.

OTHER UNLINKED CASES

Another unlinked community case involves a 40-year-old Singaporean who is employed by Batamindo Shipping and Warehousing.

He was deployed as an operations assistant at Keppel Distripark and had not been at Pasir Panjang Terminal. 

He also works part-time as a GrabFood delivery personnel.

He is asymptomatic and was detected when he was swabbed on May 4 as part of rostered routine testing. His pooled test result came back positive for COVID-19 the next day. 

He was taken to NCID on May 6 where an individual swab was done. The test result was positive. 

His earlier tests from rostered routine testing – the last being on Mar 14 – were all negative for COVID-19 infection. 

His serology test result has come back positive, but MOH said this is likely a recent infection.

READ: Victoria Junior College student positive for COVID-19; more than 100 students, staff members quarantined

The final community case is an 18-year-old Singaporean who is a student at Victoria Junior College.

She developed flu-like symptoms after school on May 5 and had a fever the next day. 

She sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic on May 6, where she was tested for COVID-19. Her test result came back positive the next day. 

Her serological test result is pending.

IMPORTED CASES

Of the 13 imported cases, six are Singaporeans and three are Singapore permanent residents who returned from Canada, India and Indonesia.

One is a dependant's pass holder who arrived from Canada.

Two are work permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh and Indonesia, of whom one is a foreign domestic worker.

The remaining imported case is a short-term visit pass holder who is a sea crew. He arrived onboard a vessel from Malaysia and had not disembarked except to go for COVID-19 testing. He was taken to the hospital when his result came back positive.

TWO IN CRITICAL CONDITION

Six more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore's total recoveries to 60,912.

There are 133 cases still in hospital. Most of them are stable or improving, and two are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. Another 255 are being isolated and cared for at community facilities.

MOH said the overall number of new cases in the community has increased from 37 cases in the week before to 43 cases in the past week. 

The number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at 10 cases per week in the past two weeks. 

As of Saturday, Singapore has reported a total of 61,331 COVID-19 cases.

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