New Covid-19 cluster of 13 cases at Block 506 in Hougang Avenue 8

Singapore

A NEW Covid-19 cluster of 13 cases at Block 506 in Hougang Avenue 8 has been announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday.

Whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis conducted by the National Public Health Laboratory revealed links among previous cases to the cluster, said MOH.

This included a 58-year-old homemaker who was among the 35 cases in the community reported on Thursday. The homemaker had received her first dose of Covid-19 vaccine on May 18.

The new cluster at Hougang Avenue 8 includes a sub-cluster of four cases linked to a 67-year-old retiree who was confirmed to have the virus on May 26. The cluster was first detected when a 57-year-old unemployed woman who stays at the Hougang block was confirmed to have the virus on May 15. The sole unlinked case in the community is a 41-year-old coating inspector at SBM Keppel Tuas. He had previously travelled to India last July and returned to Singapore on April 20.

Twenty-two of Thursday's community cases are from the MINDSville @ Napiri cluster, which was first detected when a 37-year-old female resident tested positive for the virus on Monday. The 19 residents and three nursing aides had already been quarantined prior to their positive test results. The staff and 17 residents have vaccinated. They take the total number of people linked to the cluster to 27.

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Of the new community cases, 28 had already been placed on quarantine. There were also 10 imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notice on arrival in Singapore.

With 45 new cases, Singapore has a total tally of 62,145 cases.

Meanwhile, no additional Covid-19 cases from Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital has been detected so far, after a 17-year-old nursing student from the community hospital tested positive for the virus on Monday. The ward she worked in has been locked down with non-essential services there suspended, said the hospital's chief executive Ardi S Hardjoe on Thursday.

The affected ward is also not accepting visitors and it will not be admitting or discharging patients. "Visitors who were affected were informed via SMS and direct calls to inform them of the new measures and to assure them that the safety and care of the patients will not be compromised," said Mr Ardi.

The hospital has also disinfected and deep-cleaned areas the student nurse spent time in.

Patients and staff who could have been in contact with the case have also been swabbed, said Mr Ardi, who added that the hospital has not detected any other case. Repeated swabs, however, will be arranged for patients and staff.

Mr Ardi added that 71 per cent of the hospital's patients and 86 per cent of the staff have been vaccinated.

The student, who started her internship at the hospital on May 17, had adhered to all safety protocols and personal protection guidelines while attending to patients in her assigned ward, said Mr Ardi.

She was last at work on May 28 and her swab test from rostered routine testing on May 25 returned negative. But she developed a fever and sore throat on May 30 and went to a general practitioner clinic the next day, when she tested positive.

The student is linked to the Hong Ye Group cleaners cluster, which has 25 cases as at Tuesday. She is a close contact of another infected case - an 18-year-old full-time National Serviceman at the Civil Defence Academy. He is a family member and household contact of three cases linked to the cluster. THE STRAITS TIMES