Nursing home staff, massage therapist among 24 Covid-19 community cases

[SINGAPORE] A nursing home staff, massage therapist and NTUC Fairprice employee are among 24 Covid-19 cases in the community reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday night (June 2).

The NTUC Fairprice employee and nursing home staff are among the five unlinked cases.

The first is a 61-year-old woman who works at Singapore Pools at NTUC FairPrice in Clementi Avenue 3 and was last at work on May 26.

The second is a 22-year-old healthcare assistant at Grace Lodge in Sengkang.

She is asymptomatic and was detected when she was tested on Monday as part of surveillance testing for nursing home staff.

The third unlinked case is an employee at Changi Prison Complex who was detected as part of special testing operations for residents of Hougang Avenue 8.

The 43-year-old woman works in an administrative role at the prison and was last at work on March 2. She was tested for the virus on Tuesday.

Separately, another inmate at Changi Prison Complex was also added to the cluster there, taking its total to 15.

Meanwhile, free Covid-19 testing will be offered to those who have visited shops at Block 455, Sengkang West Avenue from May 12 to May 30, as MOH is investigating cases of infection among people who have visited the location.

All visitors to these shops during this period are advised to monitor their health closely for 14 days from their date of visit, said the Health Ministry.

They are encouraged to visit a Regional Screening Centre or Swab and Send Home (SASH) Public Health Preparedness Clinic for a free Covid-19 test.

Nineteen of the community cases reported on Wednesday are linked to previous patients, including a 30-year-old massage therapist at Zenith Healing @ La Maison De Ja in People's Park Centre.

All except for a Fu Hua Primary School pupil linked to the Hong Ye Group cleaners cluster had already had been quarantined.

The nine-year-old boy was last in school on May 18 and developed a fever on Monday. He sought medical attention at a general practitioner the day after and was tested for Covid-19. He was later identified as a close contact and placed on quarantine.

Four of the linked cases reported on Wednesday were residents or staff at Mindsville @ Napiri in Hougang, forming a new cluster there.

The cluster was first detected when a 37-year-old resident at the home for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities tested positive for the virus on Monday.

The cases reported on Wednesday comprise a 30-year-old nursing aide and three female residents aged 47 to 64.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development said on Wednesday night that a total of 27 people at the home have tested positive for Covid-19, including those who have been announced by MOH.

The new linked cases take the total number of open clusters to 44.

There were also seven imported cases placed on stay-home notice on arrival in Singapore, said MOH.

With 31 new cases, Singapore has a total of 62,100 cases.

THE STRAITS TIMES