New Covid-19 cluster at 90 Redhill Close with three cases

[SINGAPORE] Two new Covid-19 clusters were declared on Tuesday (June 22), said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

The clusters include one at 90 Redhill Close, and another that was linked to a foreign domestic worker who tested positive for the coronavirus on June 14.

Cases linked to the 90 Redhill Close cluster include a 69-year-old female retiree.

She is a family member and household contact of a 79-year-old male retiree who is currently an unlinked case.

She developed a sore throat, nausea and vomiting on Monday and sought medical treatment at Singapore General Hospital on the same day.

She was tested for Covid-19 on Monday as well, and her test result came back positive the same day. Her serology test result, which indicates how recent an infection is likely to be, is negative.

Three more people were also added to the Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre cluster, said MOH.

This brings the total number of cases in the cluster to 81.

The three new cases in the cluster were among 10 new linked cases announced on Tuesday.

There were also five unlinked cases and three imported cases confirmed on Tuesday, for a total of 18 new cases.

Among the unlinked cases is a 79-year-old male retiree. He is a family member and household contact of a case linked to the 90 Redhill Close cluster, and a close contact of another case linked to the same cluster.

He developed a fever and cough on Monday but did not seek medical attention.

He was detected when he was tested for Covid-19 the same day as part of community surveillance testing for residents of the Redhill Close area.

His test result came back positive on the same day. His serology test result is negative.

Tuesday's 18 cases take Singapore's total to 62,448, said the ministry.

The 10 linked cases consist of three cases that had already been placed on quarantine and seven that were detected through surveillance.

The three imported cases had already been placed on stay-home notices or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.

One of them is a returning Singaporean and another one is a returning permanent resident, said MOH. Both returned from India.

The last imported case is a Special Pass holder who works as a sea crew who had arrived on a ship from Brazil.

There were no new cases from workers' dormitories for the eighth straight day since June 14.

The weekly total number of community cases was 104 in the past week, up from 60 in the previous week. The number of unlinked cases in the past week was 21, up from 17 cases in the week before.

There are currently 38 active clusters of infection, including two new clusters.

As at noon on Tuesday, 142 patients remained hospitalised, two of whom are in critical condition in the intensive care unit, while 173 are recuperating in community facilities.

Singapore has had 35 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.

The latest death was a 44-year-old man who died on Sunday of Covid-19 complications, who had been warded at Alexandra Hospital since May 25.

THE STRAITS TIMES