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SINGAPORE – A 41-year-old Singapore Airlines (SIA) cabin crew member who was on a flight back to the United Arab Emirates is the fifth person on that plane to have tested positive for the coronavirus.
All five also tested positive for the most infectious B117 strain of the coronavirus, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Tuesday (February 9).
The flight attendant, who is from Singapore, was among 11 coronavirus cases confirmed by the Health Ministry on Tuesday. The new boxes, all imported, bring Singapore’s total to 59,732.
The other four passengers, all dependent pass holders, were confirmed positive for Covid-19 earlier this month. They include a three-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy.
“In view of his recent travel history and the possibility that he may have been infected on board the flight, we have preliminarily classified this case as imported,” the Health Ministry said. Meanwhile, all identified close contacts of the patient have been isolated and quarantined, it added.
The flight attendant left Singapore on January 30 on the flight to Dubai and returned on February 1 without disembarking from the plane.
He also received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on February 2. “Since the vaccine does not contain live viruses, it could not have been infected due to the vaccination,” the Health Ministry said. “It is possible for a person to become infected just before or after vaccination, as it usually takes a few weeks for a person to develop immunity after completing the vaccine.”
She developed anosmia (loss of sense of smell) on February 4, but did not seek medical attention, the Health Ministry said. On Sunday, he was tested for Covid-19 as part of the requirements of the Singapore Civil Aviation Authority.
Her combined test came back positive for the virus on Monday, and she was taken to the National Center for Infectious Diseases for an individual swab and isolated. The last test came back positive for Covid-19 the next day.
His previous test on January 22 after another exchange flight was negative for the virus and his serological test result was negative, indicating that it is likely a current infection.
The remaining 10 imported cases tested positive while notices were sent home upon arrival in Singapore, the Health Ministry said.
They came from various countries, including Indonesia, India, and Russia.
The Health Ministry added that Oasis Terraces and the Ci Yuan Hawker Center at Ci Yuan Community Club were added to the list of places visited by Covid-19 patients when they were still infectious.
Singapore has had 29 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died from other causes.
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