[SINGAPORE] A suspected Omicron cluster has been detected at the Anytime Fitness gym in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre.

Two Covid-19 cases linked to the gym have tested preliminary positive for the Omicron variant while the test result of a third case is still pending, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement issued early on Tuesday morning (Dec 21).

All 3 cases are fully vaccinated and have mild symptoms.

MOH is ring-fencing the cases through contact tracing, it added.

The 3 cases are 2 men, aged 21 and 24, and an 18-year-old Ngee Ann Polytechnic student who was last in school on Dec 15.

The 21-year-old is a student at At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy but had not been to school recently, while the 24-year-old is unemployed.

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MOH said that all 3 cases had no recent travel history.

The ministry added that its investigations found that they recently visited the gym between Dec 15 and Dec 17.

The ministry said staff and visitors to the gym who are identified to be close contacts of the cases will be placed under quarantine.

As a precautionary measure, other visitors to the gym between Dec 15 and Dec 17 will be issued health risk warnings (HRW).

They will also be contacted by MOH for a 1-time polymerase chain reaction test.

The ministry advises all visitors to the gym to monitor their health closely and minimise social interactions as far as possible for 14 days from their date of visit.

They are also encouraged to see a doctor immediately if they feel unwell.

MOH added that there are 71 confirmed Omicron cases detected in Singapore to date, with 65 imported cases and 6 local cases.

Said the ministry: "Given its high transmissibility and spread to many parts of the world, we should expect to find more Omicron cases at our borders and also within our community.

"It is important for everyone to continue to play their part and remain vigilant to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 and to come forward to receive your vaccination or booster dose when offered."

Separately, MOH announced 195 new Covid-19 infections and 2 deaths recorded in Singapore on its website on Monday (Dec 20). Among the new cases were 45 Omicron cases, comprising 3 local and 42 imported cases.

The number is down from the 255 cases and 3 deaths recorded on Sunday (Dec 19), and it is the 18th day in a row that the number of new coronavirus cases has fallen below 1,000, according to statistics published on the MOH website.

Overall, there were 141 cases in the community, 5 in migrant worker dormitories and and 49 imported cases reported on Monday.

The intensive care unit (ICU) utilisation rate was 52.8 per cent, up from 43.8 per cent on Sunday.

There are 506 cases in hospital, with 29 in critical condition, 7 under close monitoring and 57 requiring oxygen support.

The weekly infection growth rate was 0.56, holding steady from Sunday.

This figure refers to the ratio of community cases in the past week over the week before.

A weekly infection growth rate that is consistently below 1 shows that the number of weekly new Covid-19 cases is falling.

The growth rate has been below 1 since Nov 13.

The 2 deaths reported on Monday take Singapore's Covid-19 death toll to 815. MOH did not provide more details on the fatalities.

The total number of cases here now stands at 276,105.

THE STRAITS TIMES