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SINGAPORE: Thirty-three new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Singapore as of noon on Thursday (January 7), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
Of these, two are cases of local transmission in the community, the ministry said, adding that no new infections were found in the bedrooms of foreign workers.
Both community cases are currently unrelated.
One is a work permit holder who works at Azur at Crowne Plaza. The 43-year-old Malaysian woman, known as Case 59059, delivered prepackaged meals to aircrew members and hotel guests. The Health Ministry said it did not interact with Azur diners.
She developed symptoms while at work on January 3 and sought medical treatment at a general medicine clinic on January 5, where she was tested for COVID-19. Her result came back positive for COVID-19 infection the next day and she was taken to the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
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The Health Ministry said his serological test came back negative, indicating that it is likely a current infection.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that she is probably not infected with the B117 strain. Her previous tests from the listed routine tests, the last one on December 31, had been negative for COVID-19 infection,” the Health Ministry added.
This is the second community case of COVID-19 linked to Azur at Crowne Plaza this week.
On Wednesday, the Health Ministry said a 24-year-old South Korean work permit holder tested positive for a combined swab during routine tests listed on January 2. It also preliminarily tested positive for the B117 strain and is pending further confirmatory testing.
The Health Ministry said it is investigating both unrelated cases and said preliminary investigations indicate the ministry cannot exclude that the transmissions may have occurred at the hotel.
As a precautionary measure, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport will be closed from January 8-21 and will no longer accept new guests. Foreign aircrew and guests currently staying at the hotel will be screened progressively, while incoming aircrew will be accommodated at alternative facilities.
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The other community case is a 63-year-old Singaporean man who works as a cargo operator at AirMark Aviation and is based out of Dnata Cargo Center. The Health Ministry said the man, known as Case 59069, is primarily responsible for loading and unloading cargo from My Indo Airlines and does not interact with passengers on the flight.
He developed symptoms of acute respiratory infection on January 4 and sought treatment at Changi General Hospital on January 6. He was confirmed positive for COVID-19 infection on the same day and was protected.
The result of your serological test is pending. Before hospitalization, he had gone to work after the onset of symptoms, the Health Ministry said.
12 FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKERS AMONG IMPORTED CASES
The remaining 31 cases were imported. Among them are four Singaporeans and three permanent residents who returned from India, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Another 19 are work permit holders who came from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Myanmar, of whom 12 are foreign domestic workers. There were also two work pass holders who came from India and the United Arab Emirates.
The remaining three imported cases are dependent pass holders who arrived from India.
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All cases, except case 59042, were placed on a stay-at-home notice upon arrival in Singapore.
Case 59042, a 48-year-old man from Bangladesh, arrived on December 22 but was unable to approve immigration due to incomplete documentation. He was detained in a facility located in the airport’s transit area until December 24, when the problems were resolved, and was subsequently transferred to a dedicated stay-at-home notification facility.
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The Ministry of Health also added several new locations to its list of places visited by COVID-19 cases during its infectious period.
These places include the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple along Ceylon Road and the NTUC Income building in Tampines Central 6. The Crowne Plaza hotel was also visited for three consecutive days.
21 LOWEST PATIENTS
The Health Ministry said the total number of new cases in the community has risen from seven cases in the previous week to nine cases in the last week.
The number of unrelated cases in the community has also increased from three cases in the previous week to six cases in the last week.
A further 21 cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore’s total recoveries to 58,562.
There are 61 cases still in the hospital. Most of them are stable or improving and one is in the intensive care unit. Another 161 are being isolated and cared for in community facilities.
As of Thursday, Singapore has reported a total of 58,813 COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths from the disease.
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