Singapore has 7 new COVID community cases, including 3 fully vaccinated cases

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Saturday (8 May) confirmed 20 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, taking the country's total case count to 61,331.

Seven of the new cases are locally transmitted, with two linked to previous cases – they had already been placed on quarantine.

There are 13 imported cases, who had already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. Among them, nine are Singaporeans or Singapore permanent residents.

Details of five unlinked cases

A 40-year-old Singaporean man who works as an operations assistant at Keppel Distripark

The man is employed by Batamindo Shipping & Warehousing Pte Ltd and had not been at Pasir Panjang Terminal. He also works part-time as a GrabFood delivery personnel.

He is asymptomatic, the ministry said, and was detected when he was tested on 4 May as part of Rostered Routine Testing (RRT). His pooled test result came back positive for COVID-19 the next day.

He was conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on 6 May, and an individual test was done. His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection. His earlier tests from RRT – the last being on 14 March – were all negative for COVID-19 infection. "His serology test result has come back positive but we have assessed that this is likely a recent infection," the MOH said.

Fully vaccinated cleaner at Changi Airport Terminal 3

The 47-year-old male work permit holder is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services Pte Ltd as a cleaner deployed at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He is asymptomatic, and was detected when he was tested on 5 May as part of RRT. His pooled test result came back positive for COVID-19 on the same day.

He was conveyed to the NCID on 6 May, and an individual test was done. His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 7 May. His earlier tests from RRT – the last being on 21 April – were all negative for COVID-19 infection. "His serology test result has come back positive but we have assessed that this is likely a recent infection," the ministry said.

He received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 29 January, and the second dose on 19 February.

An 18-year-old female Singaporean who is a student at Victoria Junior College

She was last in school on 5 May. She developed flu-like symptoms after school on 5 May, and a fever the next day. She sought medical treatment at a General Practitioner clinic on 6 May, where she was tested for COVID-19.

Her test result came back positive the next day. Her serological test result is pending.

As a precautionary measure, the MOH will commence a testing operation to test all students, staff, vendors and visitors of Victoria Junior College for COVID-19.

A 33-year-old Singaporean man who works as a safety co-ordinator at Changi Airport Terminal 3

He is employed by Shimizu Corporation and his work does not entail interaction with passengers.

He was tested for COVID-19 as part of RRT on 4 May. He developed a fever after work on 5 May, and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic the next day, where he was tested for COVID-19.

His test result came back positive on 7 May, as did his RRT pooled test result, and he was conveyed to NCID. His serology test result has come back negative.

Fully vaccinated aviation officer at Changi Airport Terminals 1 and 3

As part of his work, the 57-year-old Singaporean man screens departing and transiting passengers. He was tested for COVID-19 as part of RRT on 5 May, and 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.

On 7 May, his pooled test result came back positive for COVID-19, and an individual swab was taken. His individual test result came back positive on the same day and he was conveyed to NCID in an ambulance.

His earlier tests from RRT – the last being on 23 April – were all negative for COVID-19 infection. His serology test result is pending.

He received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 14 January, and the second dose on 4 February.

As a precautionary measure, the MOH will commence a special testing operations for all staff working at Changi Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, and Jewel.

61822 cluster

Case 61822 is a 23-year-old male India national who works as a lashing specialist at Pasir Panjang Terminal. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 10 April.

A 27-year-old male work permit holder who works as a car groomer

He works at BlackNano Pte Ltd (1 Bukit Batok Crescent) and does not typically interact with customers.

He is a family member and household contact of Cases 62824, 62877, 62906 and 62939 – all are part of this cluster.

As he had been identified as a close contact of Case 62824, he was placed on quarantine on 5 May. He is asymptomatic, but was tested for COVID-19 on 6 May during quarantine. His test result came back positive the next day. His serology test result is negative.

Fully vaccinated car mechanic

The 54-year-old male Singapore permanent resident works at Jag Technical Services Pte Ltd (209 New Upper Changi Road) and as part of his work, he occasionally goes to Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) camps for servicing and repair of vehicles but he did not interact with any SAF personnel.

He is a family member and household contact of Cases 62824, 62877, 62906 and 62938.

As he had been identified as a close contact of Case 62824, he was placed on quarantine on 5 May. He is asymptomatic, but was tested for COVID-19 on 6 May during quarantine. His test result came back positive the next day. His serology test result was negative for the N antigen, which suggests the presence of early infection.

He received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 6 March, and the second dose on 27 March.

Details of 13 imported cases

Among 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.

• One is a short-term visit pass holder who is a sea crew. He arrived onboard a vessel from Malaysia and was tested for COVID-19. He had not disembarked except to go for COVID-19 testing, and was conveyed to the hospital when his result came back positive.

The arrivals from the Indian subcontinent had already come into Singapore before the restrictions on travel were imposed, the MOH said.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 37 cases in the week before to 43 cases in the past week, the ministry said. The number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at 10 cases per week in the past two weeks.

99% of total cases have recovered, 2 in ICU

With six more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Saturday, 60,912 cases – or 99.3 per cent of the total – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 133 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while two are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 255 patients – with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive – are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

Apart from the 31 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, 15 others who tested positive for the virus were determined to have died from unrelated causes, including three whose deaths were attributed to a heart attack and another four, whose deaths were attributed to coronary heart disease.

Among the 152 confirmed cases reported from 2 to 8 May, 49 cases have tested positive for their serology tests, 77 have tested negative, and 26 serology test results are pending.

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