2 Singapore Polytechnic students linked to Jem and Westgate cluster test positive for Covid-19

SINGAPORE — Two Singapore Polytechnic students linked to the Jem and Westgate Covid-19 cluster have tested positive for the coronavirus, the polytechnic said on Monday (May 24).

There are now eight Covid-19 cases among Singapore Polytechnic students.

The infected students are family members and household contacts who were last on campus on May 14.

One of the two cases is a second-year student who studies at the School of Chemical and Life Sciences. She had visited Westgate on May 8, 10 and 11.

The 19-year-old student developed a fever on May 18 and sought treatment the next day at a general practitioner clinic, where she was tested for Covid-19.

As she had also been identified as a close contact of a case who was under investigation, she was placed on quarantine on May 22. She was tested for Covid-19 the next day, with the result coming back positive.

She was not infectious when she was last on campus, the polytechnic said in a statement.

The other new case is a 20-year-old Malaysian who is also a student from the School of Chemical and Life Sciences. She had visited Westgate on May 10.

She developed a fever in the evening after class on May 14, but did not see a doctor until May 19, when she went to a general practitioner and was tested for Covid-19 there.

Similarly, she had been identified as a close contact of a case who was under investigation and also placed on quarantine on May 22. She was tested for Covid-19 on May 23, with the result coming back positive.

Serology test results for both cases are pending.

"As she was last on campus during her infectious period, her close contacts have been placed on quarantine," Singapore Polytechnic said in a statement.

The polytechnic added that the campus premises where the infected students have been, were cleaned and disinfected.

ALL PARTICIPANTS TEST NEGATIVE

Singapore Polytechnic also provided an update on the results of its Covid-19 swabbing exercise to test its students, staff members and vendors.

"All students, staff and vendors who participated in this exercise have tested negative. In view of this, there are currently no plans to extend testing to the rest of the SP community." 

About 8,500 people were tested during the exercise that concluded on May 22.

Singapore reported 24 new community Covid-19 cases on Monday, two of which had no links to past cases. There were also 12 imported cases, including five returning Singaporeans or permanent residents. CNA

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