Okay I have good news and bad news.
The bad news is that we have two new COVID-19 clusters and our two biggest clusters grew even larger yesterday.
Reader: That really is bad. What’s the good news?
The authorities reported 3 fewer cases than the day before.
Reader: You mean there were 179 new infections?
Yes.
Reader: HOW IS THAT GOOD NEWS?
Unfortunately, dear reader, it’s all we’ve got. Here are the details:
New Cluster Emerged in MBS Casino With 11 Cases; Casino to Close Until 5 Aug
The Marina Bay Sands Casino has been closed for two weeks after a COVID-19 cluster formed in its premises.
While the Ministry of Health (MOH) did not provide specifics, it said there were 11 cases linked to the cluster.
It is now investigating cases of COVID-19 infection among those who worked in or visited the casino.
Since there is likely ongoing transmission, MOH said the casino will be closed to the public from today (22 July) to 5 Aug to break the chain of transmission and enable deep cleaning of the premises.
A special testing operation will be conducted for all staff members of the casino, and free testing will be extended to those who visited the casino between 7 Jul and 21 Jul.
Another new cluster, named after Case 65231, was also identified. The cluster currently has four infections.
2 Markets Closed
Of the 179 new infections reported yesterday, 130 cases were linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster and 8 to the KTV lounges cluster.
This means there are now 454 cases linked to the Jurong Fishery Port/Hong Lim Market & Food Centre cluster, which is our largest active cluster.
The KTV lounges cluster has 215 infections.
Two more markets were found to have ongoing transmission, as 22 cases were linked to Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre and another 12 to Whampoa Drive Market.
Both markets will be closed to the public from today to 5 Aug.
Free COVID-19 testing will be extended to those who visited Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre at Clementi Avenue 3 and Haig Road Market & Food Centre between 7 Jul and 21 Jul.
Those who had visited selected markets and food centres in the last 14 days can also collect antigen rapid test (ART) self-test kits at Residents’ Committee Centres near Whampoa Drive Market and 726 West Coast Market today (22 July) and tomorrow.
Those eligible for the ART kits are “strongly encouraged” to collect and use them, MOH said.
More information about the collection can be found here.
1 More KTV Lounge Identified
Yet another KTV lounge was found to have likely ongoing COVID-19 transmission, namely Sakura Entertainment, at 517 Geylang Road.
Those who visited Sakura Entertainment are advised to monitor their health closely, and minimise social interactions as far as possible for 14 days from their date of visit or interaction.
The ministry urged visitors to markets and food centres to do their marketing during off-peak hours or at supermarkets to avoid crowds, and to adhere to the safe management measures in place.
379 Cases in Hospital
At the moment, there are 379 COVID-19 cases in hospital, most of whom are well and under observation.
There are 7 serious cases that require oxygen supplementation, and one in critical condition in the intensive care unit. None of these eight cases is fully vaccinated.
There are also two serious cases who are seniors above 60 – one is completely unvaccinated and the other partially vaccinated.
Featured Image: Facebook (CNA)