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SINGAPORE – The Government is reviewing precautionary measures for workers in the maritime sector after five new community Covid-19 patients linked to the sector were announced on Thursday (December 31).
30 new coronavirus cases were confirmed as of noon on Thursday, bringing Singapore’s total to 58,599.
There were 25 imported cases that were placed on stay-at-home notices or isolated upon arrival in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MINSA) said.
There were five new community cases and none of the workers’ bedrooms.
Of the community cases, two are family members of a permanent Singapore resident who works as a marine surveyor and is Covid-19 positive. The remaining three cases form a family group involving a port pilot who tested positive through the routine tests listed.
The Health Ministry said it is aggressively tracking and testing close contacts of community cases to protect these cases and prevent further transmission.
In addition, the Ministry of Health will begin special testing operations to test the people who boarded the ships that the marine inspector and the port pilot had recently worked on.
“We will also test port pilots, marine surveyors and ship repair workers in the coming days, regardless of their routine testing program, to determine their Covid-19 status,” the ministry said.
“In view of recent cases involving the maritime sector, we will review the need to tighten our precautionary measures for these workers.”
On Wednesday, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot and a work pass holder preliminarily tested positive for the new B117 strain of the coronavirus circulating in the UK.
The new B117 strain is reportedly 70% more contagious, but has shown no signs of being more lethal or severe.
The pilot, a 40-year-old Singaporean, had traveled to the UK for work between December 19 and 22, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
Although he tested negative for Covid-19 upon returning to Singapore, he developed a fever last Saturday and the next day sought medical treatment at a general medicine clinic, where samples were taken and confirmed to test positive on Tuesday.
More tests will be done to confirm the Covid-19 strain the man has.
The work pass holder who also preliminarily tested positive for the B117 strain is a 53-year-old man who returned from the UK. It was confirmed positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, there were 24 other imported cases, all of which had been placed on a stay-at-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore, the Health Ministry said.
Among the imported cases, three are from Singapore, four are permanent residents, five are work pass holders and seven are work permit holders.
Of the seven work permit holders, six are foreign domestic workers.
The imported cases also include three dependent pass holders, a student pass holder, a long-term visit pass holder, a short-term visit pass holder, and a special pass holder.
The only community case announced on Wednesday was that of a permanent resident working as a marine surveyor at Lloyd’s Register Singapore.
As part of his job, the 46-year-old works aboard vessels docked at Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard.
He had not gone to work since the symptoms appeared on Sunday.
His case is currently unrelated and epidemiological investigations are underway, the Health Ministry said.
Marina Bay Sands, IMM, Takashimaya and Orchard Gateway were among the places visited by Covid-19 patients when they were still infectious, the Health Ministry said.
Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained low, with a total of two cases in the last week that are currently not linked.
Singapore has had 29 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died from other causes.
Globally, the virus outbreak, which began in December last year, has infected more than 82.6 million people. More than 1.8 million people have died.
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