58 households in Tampines block offered Covid-19 tests after 9 infection cases confirmed there

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has offered Covid-19 testing to the residents and visitors from 58 households residing in Block 111 on Tampines Street 11. This was after the discovery of nine new Covid-19 infections in two separate households living in the same block.

In one household, a 66-year-old Singaporean man who works at Leo Dormitory, a foreign worker dormitory with a known Covid-19 cluster, was confirmed to have the disease on June 23.

Later, six of his household members tested positive for Covid-19 as part of contact-tracing efforts.

Then, on June 27, a 15-year-old Singaporean girl from a separate household reported sick and tested positive for the coronavirus. One of her household members also contracted the disease.

However, as of Thursday (July 2) evening, no links have been established between the two households, MOH said in a press release. 

The 58 households in the public housing block were offered testing and placed under active phone surveillance since they reside in the same block and share the same set of lifts and stairwells. The rest of the households within the same block that do not share lifts and stairwells were not asked to be tested. 

So far, the ministry has contacted 160 individuals, comprising residents and visitors of the 58 households, and has arranged for them to get tested at a nearby clinic. 

Sixty of the 160 individuals have tested negative for Covid-19.

The authorities have also disinfected and stepped up regular cleaning of the affected common areas in the block. 

Since the 58 households and 160 individuals are not considered to be close contacts of the confirmed cases, MOH said that they have been assessed to have a low risk of being infected and therefore have not been placed on stay-home notice or put on quarantine.

As a precaution though, the ministry will be in contact with the residents daily to monitor their health status for up to 14 days.

These residents may continue their daily essential activities if they are well, including going to work or school, it added, but they are encouraged to minimise non-essential activities — especially while waiting for their Covid-19 test results.

Should they develop acute respiratory infection symptoms, they should seek immediate medical attention at a nearby Public Health Preparedness Clinic or polyclinic.

During the governmental task force briefing on Thursday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that testing was offered but is not mandatory for the 58 households and their visitors.

“However, if we do find additional cases among these (people taking up) voluntary testing, we might decide to take further measures. And what the further measures may be depends on the type of cases we detect,” he said.