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A timeline of the Tan Tock Seng Hospital COVID-19 cluster

A timeline of the Tan Tock Seng Hospital COVID-19 cluster

View of Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore on Apr 30, 2021. (Photo: Calvin Oh)

SINGAPORE The Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) cluster is currently the largest active COVID-19 cluster, with a total of 40 cases linked to it as of Tuesday (May 4).

It is also Singapore's first hospital COVID-19 cluster.

On Apr 28, the Ministry of Health (MOH) first announced that a 46-year-old nurse working at TTSH tested positive for COVID-19. She was deployed at Ward 9D and had completed her COVID-19 vaccination on Feb 18.

Identified as Case 62541, the nurse developed a cough, sore throat and body aches on Apr 27, and sought medical treatment.

READ: COVID-19: Staff placed on leave of absence, 4 wards locked down as Tan Tock Seng Hospital moves to contain cluster

Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 on the same day and she was warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). Ward 9D was locked down on Apr 28, said MOH. 

Since the discovery of the first case at TTSH, the Health Ministry has announced more cases linked to the cluster every day, something the authorities said is expected to happen. 

Here is a timeline of how the cluster has unfolded so far:

Apr 29: TTSH CLUSTER HAS NINE CASES IN TOTAL

MOH reports that six cases are patients in Ward 9D, with the oldest being 94 years old.

One of them, Case 62561, had onset of symptoms before the nurse tested positive for COVID-19. 

Giving a timeline of his case, MOH said the 57-year-old man developed a fever on Apr 16 but did not seek medical treatment. 

Two days later, he developed more symptoms and went to TTSH’s emergency department where he tested negative for COVID-19 but was placed in Ward 7D.

On Apr 20, he was transferred to Ward 9D. He was moved to an isolation ward on Apr 27 after being reviewed by an infectious diseases doctor.

Apart from the nurse, another two TTSH employees test positive - a 30-year-old male doctor and an 18-year-old female healthcare assistant trainee. 

Both of them are linked to Ward 9D – the doctor attended to patients there, while the trainee was deployed there. 

The trainee is asymptomatic and is detected as part of the hospital’s testing regime, while the doctor is symptomatic.

Ward 7D is the second ward under lockdown. 

Apr 30: TTSH CLUSTER HAS FOUR NEW CASES, 13 IN TOTAL

A 41-year-old cleaner who was deployed to Ward 9D, two patients from the same ward aged 65 and 77 and a 36-year-old doctor are reported to have COVID-19 infection. 

Other than the 77-year-old patient, the rest were detected as part of TTSH's proactive testing. 

The 77-year-old woman was discharged to United Medicare Centre (Toa Payoh) nursing home from Ward 9D on Apr 27, after testing negative for the virus the day before. 

On Apr 28, she was identified and isolated. She tested positive for the infection on the same day.

TTSH locks down another two wards - Ward 9C and Ward 10B.

May 1: TTSH CLUSTER HAS 3 NEW CASES, 16 IN TOTAL; 88-YEAR-OLD WOMAN DIES

An 88-year-old woman whose case was reported as among the cases on Apr 29 dies from complications related to COVID-19. The woman had a history of cancer, hypertension, congestive cardiac failure, stroke and hyperlipidaemia.

She is Singapore’s 31st COVID-19 fatality.

MOH says another two patients who were in Ward 9D, aged 70 and 74, have tested positive for COVID-19.

The 70-year-old man tested negative for COVID-19 on Apr 28 while warded at TTSH as part of testing of staff members and patients who had been in the affected wards. 

He was transferred to the NCID the same day and tested positive for the virus two days later.

An 86-year-old woman, the wife of a patient in Ward 9D, is the third case linked to the cluster today. 

She sought medical treatment at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for an unrelated condition on Apr 30 and was tested after she was found to have a fever. She tested positive the same day.

May 2: TTSH CLUSTER HAS 11 NEW CASES, 27 IN TOTAL

One of the 11 new cases is a physiotherapist who works at Ward 9D. She tested positive after being placed under quarantine.

Five cases are patients who were discharged from Ward 9D. They were placed under quarantine and tested positive for COVID-19. The cases are two male patients aged 79 and 84, and three female patients aged 60, 65 and 89.

Two more cases are Ward 9D patients - aged 90 and 98.

The remaining three cases are family members who visited patients hospitalised in Ward 9D between Apr 18 and Apr 28. They tested positive during quarantine.

May 3: TTSH CLUSTER HAS EIGHT NEW CASES, 35 IN TOTAL

Five cases are patients, aged between 53 and 94, who were in Ward 9D. 

The remaining three are TTSH employees - a nurse at the emergency department, a nurse at Ward 9D and a porter. The staff members were detected as part of testing for all employees of the hospital. 

May 4: TTSH CLUSTER HAS FIVE NEW CASES, 40 IN TOTAL

MOH reports five new community cases, all linked to the TTSH cluster. 

The cases were detected from proactive testing of patients, visitors and staff members at the hospital or their close contacts, and had already been placed under quarantine, said the ministry.

Details of the new cases will be released at night.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

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Source: CNA/ja(ta)

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