The coronavirus has an odd habit of uprooting beliefs we’ve held firmly for years and throwing them out the window.
Think you can travel whenever you want? COVID-19: Think again.
Think bubble tea will always be available for you, even in times of crisis? COVID:19: Lol
Now, this much-detested virus has refuted yet another firm belief – that if you test negative for COVID-19, especially multiple times, you’re definitely negative.
Both COVID-19 Community Cases Reported on 16 Apr Have Previously Been Tested Negative Multiple Times
34 new COVID-19 infections were reported yesterday (16 Apr), two of whom were from the community.
This is the first time since 3 March that two community cases were reported on the same day, but that isn’t the only notable thing about these cases.
The first community case is a 34-year-old Indian national who works as a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
The man had travelled to India on 28 Dec 2020 and returned on 21 March this year. He was issued a stay-home notice (SHN) upon his arrival, which he served at a dedicated facility.
His pre-departure test done in India on 19 March was negative for COVID-19, as was his on-arrival swab in Singapore on 21 March.
During SHN, he had been identified as a close contact of a previous case during their flight to Singapore, and was placed on quarantine at a dedicated facility from 24 March to 11 April.
His three tests done during quarantine on 25 March, 3 April and 10 April were all negative, meaning he had tested negative a total of four times at this point.
But on Monday (12 April), the day the 34-year-old returned to work, he began feeling fatigued, and had a sore throat and body aches the following day.
He stayed at home until Wednesday when he developed a fever, and went to a polyclinic.
This time, his COVID-19 test there came back positive. He was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases in an ambulance.
This is likely a current infection, as his serology test has come back negative.
44YO Indonesian Tested Negative Three Times Before Virus Was Detected
The story of the other community case is pretty similar.
He is a 44-year-old Indonesian man who arrived in Singapore on 28 Feb on a short-term visit pass to care for his father, who is receiving medical treatment for a condition unrelated to COVID-19.
He served an SHN until 14 March at a dedicated facility.
His pre-departure test, on-arrival test, as well as another test during his SHN on 13 March all came back negative.
Then, on Wednesday (14 Apr), when the man took a pre-departure test ahead of his flight back to Indonesia, he tested positive for COVID-19.
He was taken to the hospital but remains asymptomatic.
Family and co-workers of the two community cases have been isolated and quarantined.
The Ministry of Health said epidemiological investigations into both cases are ongoing.
In the meantime, if you’re still wondering whether to take the COVID-19 vaccine or not, watch this video to the end and draw your own conclusion:
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