Covid-19: 24 Omicron cases detected in Singapore so far, another airport worker positive in early test

SINGAPORE — A 42-year-old man who works as a loading assistant at Changi Airport Terminal 3 is found to be infected by the Omicron coronavirus strain in early tests, while 24 people here have been confirmed to have the variant so far.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a news release late on Thursday (Dec 16) that the man is fully vaccinated and has mild symptoms.

He is now recovering in an isolation ward at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

MOH added that it is ringfencing the case through contact tracing.

The airport staff member, who has had no contact with flight passengers, developed a fever on Dec 8 and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic where he was tested for Covid-19.

The result came back positive for Covid-19 the next day and he was to recover at home.

He was later identified as a close contact of an earlier case who tested positive for Omicron, so his sample was tested on Dec 16 and it came back “preliminarily positive”, MOH said.

“The National Public Health Laboratory is conducting whole genome sequencing to confirm the variant and contact tracing is ongoing.” 

On Tuesday, it was reported that there were 16 confirmed Omicron cases, including two local cases who were airport passenger service staff members.

A day later, three more people were found to have the virus strain after preliminary tests, including another airport worker who is a loading cabin assistant.

TODAY has asked MOH whether these three people’s infections due to Omicron have been confirmed and who the other five new cases are.

Of the 24 confirmed Omicron cases in Singapore, 21 are imported cases and three are local cases.

All close contacts of suspected Omicron cases will be placed on a 10-day quarantine at designated facilities and undergo polymerase chain reaction tests at the start and end of the period.

Those who are identified to have visited places where the cases had been, and who could potentially have interacted with them, will receive a seven-day health risk warning from MOH.

Given its high transmissibility and spread to many parts of the world, MOH said that people should expect to find more Omicron cases at Singapore’s 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.”