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VJC student who tested positive for COVID-19 is linked to Changi Airport cluster

VJC student who tested positive for COVID-19 is linked to Changi Airport cluster

A Google Street view of Victoria Junior College. (Image: Google Maps)

SINGAPORE: An 18-year-old Victoria Junior College (VJC) student who tested positive for COVID-19 last week has been linked to the COVID-19 cluster at Changi Airport.

The student - identified as Case 62941 - had visited the Kopitiam food court at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on the same day as two other cases, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday (May 11).

“Our epidemiological investigations have found that Case 62941 is linked to the Case 62873 cluster," MOH said.

"She was likely to have been infected while she was at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on May 3."

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

STUDENT VISITED RAFFLES MEDICAL AND KOPITIAM AT TERMINAL 3

MOH said the student had been to Raffles Medical at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on Apr 23 and 30 and May 3. She also visited Kopitiam on May 3.

The food court was frequented on May 3 by two other cases in the Changi Airport cluster. They are: Case 62942, a safety coordinator who works at Terminal 3, as well as Case 62945, an aviation officer who works at Terminals 1 and 3.

Cases 62942 and 62945 tested positive for COVID-19 on May 7. The latter is fully vaccinated.

Basement 2 of Terminal 3 - where Kopitiam is located - has been closed temporarily since Monday after several COVID-19 cases visited outlets there, according to airport authorities.

READ: 13 new community COVID-19 cases, including operating theatre technician at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital

There are now 18 cases linked to the Changi Airport cluster, including the VJC student.

Case 62873, an 88-year-old airport cleaner who tested positive on May 5, was the first case reported in the cluster.

On Tuesday, seven of the 13 new community cases reported were linked to the Changi Airport cluster. There were also 12 imported cases.​​​​​​​

READ: Changi Airport COVID-19 cluster grows as family members, household contacts of previous cases test positive

The VJC student was last in school on May 5. She developed flu-like symptoms after school that day and a fever on May 6.

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

A total of 95 students and eight staff members who had been in close contact with the student were placed on quarantine order. 

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has also said it will test about 2,200 students, staff, vendors and visitors of the school as a precaution. 

HOME-BASED LEARNING

On Saturday, MOE said that VJC would move to home-based learning for a week from Monday.

VJC Principal Ek Soo Ben said in response to CNA queries that students who are on quarantine order have "ready access to the home-based lessons and materials online".

The school implements blended learning regularly and students are familiar with online learning, she added.

"The college is also in regular contact with the students on quarantine order," she said.

"Our teachers will do a daily check-in with the students at the start of the day to ascertain their well-being and their readiness for lessons.

"Teachers will provide additional support for students who may need it, such as one-to-one or small-group consultations online during the period of their quarantine."

As of Tuesday, Singapore has reported a total of 61,403 COVID-19 cases and 31 fatalities.

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Source: CNA/vc

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