30 new community COVID-19 cases in Singapore, including 8 unlinked infections

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 30 new community COVID-19 cases as of noon on Friday (May 21), said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Twenty-two of the community infections are linked to previous cases, while eight are currently unlinked. Among them, 17 cases had already been placed on quarantine earlier, said the ministry.

There were also 10 imported cases, who had already been placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore. No new cases were reported in migrant workers' dormitories.

The imported cases include three Singaporeans and five permanent residents who returned from India, Indonesia and the United States. Two cases are foreign domestic workers who arrived from Indonesia and the Philippines on work permits. 

In all, Singapore reported 40 new COVID-19 cases on Friday.

UNLINKED CASES

A 20-year-old student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is among the eight unlinked cases. The Singaporean is also a part-time retail staff member at Hijabville. MOH said she developed a sore throat, runny nose and cough on May 13, but did not seek medical attention. 

On May 19, she went for a COVID-19 swab as part of testing operations for those who had visited Westgate. Her test result came back positive on May 21. Her serology test result is pending.

The other unlinked cases include a 29-year-old Indian national who works as a sales personnel at Platinum Yoga. He developed chills and fatigue on May 19 and went for a COVID-19 test on the same day as part of special testing operations for those who had visited Westgate. His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on May 20 and his serology test result is pending.

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There is also a 27-year-old Malaysian national who works as a delivery rider for IVIC Logistic and McDonald’s (Bedok Reservoir). He developed a fever and cough on May 17 but did not seek medical treatment until May 20, where he underwent both an antigen rapid test (ART) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Both test results came back positive for COVID-19 infection on the same day. His serology test result is pending

A 31-year-old Singaporean employed by Hong Ye Group as a cleaner at Changi Business Park, a 17-year-old Singaporean who is currently unemployed and a 34-year-old Singaporean who works as a technician at Singapore Refining Company are also currently unlinked.

The remaining cases are a 28-year-old Singaporean homemaker and a 40-year-old Singaporean who works as an operations personnel at The Meatery SG.

CHANGI AIRPORT CLUSTER GROWS FURTHER

Four more cases have been linked to the Changi Airport Terminal 3 cluster. 

Three had already been quarantined: A 68-year-old Singaporean who is currently unemployed, a 70-year-old Singaporean retiree and a 38-year-old Singaporean who works at Samiko Enterprises & PPP International Group. They are all family members or household contacts of previously confirmed cases.

The fourth case is a 57-year-old permanent resident who works at Standard Chartered Bank. MOH said the man, who is fully vaccinated, had last gone to work on Apr 27. He developed a runny nose on May 15 but did not seek medical treatment. 

As he had visited Changi Airport Terminal 3 on May 2, he went for a COVID-19 test on May 19 offered as part of testing operations for visitors to Changi Airport. 

His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on May 21 and his serology test result is pending. 

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CHANGI PRISON COMPLEX CLUSTER

Two more inmates have been linked to the cluster at Changi Prison. The Singaporeans, aged 66 and 40, are both close contacts of a previously confirmed case, a 39-year-old Chinese national who is employed by SATS Food Services as a cook at Changi Prison Complex.

THREE NEW CLUSTERS

Three new clusters have been identified.

They include one linked to a 57-year-old Singaporean administrative employee at Pacific Law Corporation. The woman was confirmed to have COVID-19 on May 16 and her colleague tested positive three days later.

The colleague's family member and household contact - a 40-year-old Singaporean who works as a shipping executive at Star Shipping Agencies - tested positive on May 20. The cluster now has a total of three cases.

The second cluster is linked to a 46-year-old Singaporean investment banker at DBS who tested positive on May 17.

An 11-year-old Singaporean, who is a student at Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), is the latest case to be added to the cluster, which now has a total of three infections. The student is a close contact of a previously confirmed case, a 12-year-old Singaporean who is also a student at the same school. 

The third new cluster is linked to a 49-year-old permanent resident homemaker who tested positive on May 19.

An 11-year-old Myanmar national, who is a household contact of the permanent resident and another previously confirmed case, is the latest infection to be traced to the cluster. 

The boy is a student at Bukit View Primary School and developed a fever, sore throat, cough and anosmia before testing positive for COVID-19. 

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1-YEAR-OLD BABY AMONG NEW CASES LINKED TO IT ENGINEER

Three more cases have been linked to a previously confirmed case, a 32-year-old Singaporean who works as an IT engineer at AbbVie Operations. All of them are his close contacts. 

They include a one-year-old Singaporean who attends Skool4kidz Centre at Punggol Way and AWWA Early Intervention Centre @ Fernvale. 

The other two cases are a 34-year-old Singaporean who works as an associate at Standard Charted Bank and a 41-year-old Singaporean who is a homemaker. 

ANOTHER JIN TAI MART EMPLOYEE TESTS POSITIVE

A 35-year-old sales assistant at Jin Tai Mart is the latest case linked to the Jin Tai Tong Food Industries cluster. The Malaysian man is a close contact of another Jin Tai Mart employee and tested positive for COVID-19 during his quarantine. The cluster has a total of nine infections.

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UOB KAY HIAN EMPLOYEE AMONG NEW CASES

One more case, who had already been quarantined, has been linked to a 53-year-old Singaporean who works as a personal chauffeur. The case is a 51-year-old Singaporean who works at UOB Kay Hian is his family member and household contact. The cluster has five cases in total. 

OTHER LINKED CASES

The other linked community cases announced on Friday include two foreign domestic workers, aged 30 and 31, from the Philippines and Indonesia. 

There is also a 40-year-old Singaporean engineer at Flexicon Singapore as well as a 49-year-old permanent resident who works as an administrative staff member at the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club. These cases were either family members or household contacts of previously confirmed cases and had been quarantined.

Four other linked cases were detected through surveillance.

There is a 22-year-old Malaysian who works at Seagate Singapore International Headquarters, a 29-year-old Singaporean who works at Slide and Hide System and a 39-year-old Singaporean who works as an administrative personnel at Tomoe Transtech Specialty Gases. 

All of them experienced symptoms such as anosmia, fever and cough prior to testing positive for COVID-19.

The remaining case is 27-year-old Malaysian who works as a delivery rider for IVIC Logistic and McDonald’s (Pasir Ris Elias Community Club). He is a household contact of a previously confirmed case.

He developed body aches on May 18 but did not seek medical treatment until May 20, where he underwent both an ART and PCR test. Both test results came back positive on the same day while serology test result is pending.

249 PATIENTS STILL IN HOSPITAL

MOH said the number of new cases in the community has increased from 91 cases in the week before to 196 cases in the past week. 

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from 13 cases in the week before to 56 cases in the past week. 

Among the 265 confirmed cases reported from May 15 to May 21, a total of 44 cases have tested positive for their serology tests while 130 have tested negative. A further 91 serology test results are pending.

Further details can be found in the health ministry’s daily situation report.  

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Thirteen more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore's total recoveries to 61,242.

There are 249 cases still in hospital. Most of them are stable or improving, and four are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. Another 247 are being isolated and cared for at community facilities.

As of Friday, Singapore has reported a total of 61,770 COVID-19 cases.

The health ministry also added several new locations to its list of places visited by COVID-19 cases in the community during their infectious period.

They include popular shopping malls such as Bukit Panjang Plaza and Causeway Point.

MOH also said that it has closed the OM Universal cluster as there have been no more cases linked to it for the past two incubation periods. 

On Thursday, MOH said all residents living in Block 506 Hougang Ave 8 will be tested for COVID-19 after investigations found that “a few” positive cases live there. A similar initiative was carried out in June last year at a Tampines block.

A 70-year-old man linked to the cluster at Tan Tock Seng Hospital was also reported to have died from complications related to COVID-19. This is Singapore's 32nd COVID-19 death and the second one in May.

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