In just seven days, all our smiles have turned upside down.
Last week, the authorities announced that Singapore was on track to control its latest outbreak, and that we could reopen safely.
Things seemed like they would return to something resembling normal.
Since then, cases have started rising again, largely thanks to the concerning cluster at Bukit Merah View.
Unfortunately, cases increased once again yesterday, as 20 community infections were reported.
Here are the details:
Sole Unlinked Case Works as a Counter Staff in McDonald’s & is Fully Vaccinated
The only unlinked case reported yesterday is a 72-year-old Singaporean who works as a counter staff at McDonald‘s (Tiong Bahru Plaza).
She is asymptomatic, and was tested on 16 June as part of the health ministry’s surveillance testing for staff who work at Tiong Bahru Plaza.
Her test returned a positive result on the same day and her serology test result is pending.
The woman has been fully vaccinated, having received her first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on 8 March and the second dose on 29 March.
115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre Cluster
The Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre remains our main source of new community infections.
17 new cases were added to the cluster yesterday, namely:
- a 32-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who works as an administrative staff at MSIG Insurance
- a 73-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a stall assistant at Tiong Bahru Yong Tao Hu (56 Eng Hoon Street)
- an 87-year-old Singaporean woman who works at a sundry store at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre
- a 52-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a food store vendor at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre
- a 14-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who is a student at Bukit Merah Secondary School
- a 3-year-old Singaporean girl who does not attend any childcare facility
- a 69-year-old Indian woman who is currently unemployed
- a 50-year-old Indian woman who is unemployed
- a 5-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who is a student at PCF Sparkletots Preschool (Henderson)
- a 13-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who is a student at Bukit Merah Secondary School
- a 62-year-old Singaporean woman who is a homemaker
- a 69-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree, and helps out at a food stall at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre
- a 60-year-old Singaporean woman who works at Bioinfocomm Pte Ltd, and frequently visited 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre
- a 36-year-old Singaporean man who works as a shipping operator at Skyline Shipping Pte Ltd
- a 65-year-old Singaporean man who works as a part-time food stall assistant at 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre
- a 23-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a patient service associate at Singapore General Hospital
- a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who is a student at Zhangde Primary School
The 3-year-old was placed on quarantine on 14 June after being identified as a family member and household contact of two previous cases.
She was tested for COVID-19 on 15 June during quarantine, and developed a fever and cough on the same day. Her test returned a positive result on 16 June. Her serology test result is negative.
The cluster has now grown to 56 cases.
Case 64184 Cluster
One more case was added to the Case 64184 cluster, named after a 27-year-old engineer at Ecoxplore Pte Ltd.
The latest case is a 52-year-old Singaporean man who works as a private hire driver for Tada.
He was placed on quarantine on 15 June after being identified as a close contact of a previous case.
He was tested for COVID-19 on 16 June and developed a cough on the same day. His test came back positive the next day. His serology test result is pending.
The man received his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on 17 March, and the second dose on 14 April.
The remaining linked case with no links to existing clusters is a 12 year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who is a student at Tanglin Trust School.
No new infections in dormitories have been detected.
7 Imported Cases
In addition to the 20 community cases, 7 imported infections were reported.
They are:
- 1 Singaporean and 2 Singapore Permanent Residents who returned from India
- 3 Work Permit holders who arrived from Indonesia and Malaysia, of whom 2 are foreign domestic workers
One imported case had entered Singapore waters from Indonesia without valid documentation, and was arrested by the Singapore Police Force’s Police Coast Guard.
He was tested for COVID-19 infection, and isolated until he was conveyed to the hospital when his result came back positive.
All 7 cases had already been placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival here.
Swab Testing in Redhill & Tiong Bahru
Due to the escalating outbreak in Bukit Merah View, the health ministry will be carrying out special COVID-19 testing operations for all staff and tenants working at several locations in Redhill and Tiong Bahru.
They are:
- 78, 79, 80, 84 and 85 Redhill Lane, 86 Redhill Close
- 18 Jalan Membina
- Tiong Bahru Yong Tao Hu Coffeeshop at 56 Eng Hoon Street
The ministry said it was investigating cases of COVID-19 infection among people who work in or visited these locations.
It will also be offering free testing to members of the public who visited these shops during selected dates in June.
Featured Image: Google Maps