Covid-19: McDonald’s employee among 3 unlinked community cases; 7 new cases added to Jem, Westgate cluster

• There were 26 Covid-19 cases reported on May 26
• Of these, 23 were in the community, three of which had no links to past cases
• There were two imported cases and one in a foreign worker dormitory
• The number of cases with no known links in the community has gone down from 40 in the week before to 30 in the past week

SINGAPORE — A McDonald’s employee as well as a worker in a pub who had received her first dose of Covid-19 vaccine were among three new Covid-19 community cases on Wednesday (May 26) that have not been traced to any source of infection.

The three unlinked cases were part of 23 in the wider community, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.

Another two cases were imported and one was from a migrant workers’ dormitory in Woodlands that recently became a new cluster, bringing the total number of cases on Wednesday to 26.

Seven new cases were linked to the Jem and Westgate malls cluster, including two students from Concord Primary School and a Grace Assembly Church pastor.

This cluster, with 60 cases, and the Changi Airport cluster with 108 cases are now the two largest ones.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has gone down from 187 in the week before to 165 in the past week.

The number of cases with no known links in the community has also dipped from 40 in the week before to 30 in the past week.

UNLINKED CASES IN THE COMMUNITY

The three community cases with no known sources of infection were:

• A 58-year-old Singaporean woman who works at Chevy’s Bar and Bistro on Beach Road and was isolated on May 24 after testing positive. She received her first vaccine dose on May 4

• A 24-year-old Malaysian man who works at the McDonald’s outlet at The Woodgrove condominium in Woodlands

• A 38-year-old Malaysian man who works at Rong Chang F&B Services

JEM AND WESTGATE CLUSTER

The new cases added to the cluster were: 

• An 11-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl from Concord Primary School, both Singaporeans, who last went to school on May 17 and tested positive on May 24

• A 29-year-old Singaporean technician who was placed on quarantine on May 17

• An 18-year-old student from the Institute of Technical Education College West who was last in school on May 14

• A 67-year-old Singaporean delivery driver who frequently delivered goods to both malls and tested positive on May 25

• A 28-year-old Singaporean hairdresser who visited Jem on May 9 and tested positive on May 24

• A 30-year-old permanent resident and pastor at Grace Assembly Church, who visited Jem on May 11 and tested positive on May 25

CLUSTER LINKED TO MCDONALD’S DELIVERY RIDER

The two new cases added to the cluster were: 

• A 41-year-old permanent resident who works as a receptionist at Wanderloft Capsule Hostel in Boat Quay and a part-time waitress at the Collin’s restaurant outlet at Nex mall in Serangoon Central

• A 58-year-old Singaporean kitchen and service crew member at the McDonald’s outlet at Pasir Ris Elias Community Club, who was last at work on May 19

CHANGI PRISON COMPLEX CLUSTER

A 49-year-old male inmate was placed on quarantine on May 13 and tested negative for Covid-19 on five days, before testing positive on May 24 and developing diarrhoea the day after. He was a close contact of a prison cook who tested positive on May 13.

LEARNING POINT CLUSTER

A 35-year-old Thai woman who worked at Santai Cafe at United World College in Tampines and was quarantined on May 23 has been added to this cluster linked to a 50-year-old Singaporean female tutor at Learning Point in Parkway Centre.

OTHER CASES NOW LINKED TO PAST INFECTIONS

• A two-year-old toddler who goes to My First Skool childcare centre at 331 Sembawang Close

• A 31-year-old man from Hong Kong who is a senior executive at financial technology firm Endowus

• A 64-year-old Singaporean woman who is a homemaker

• A 20-year-old female National University of Singapore student who works part-time at Poke Theory eatery in Velocity@Novena Square mall

• A 38-year-old permanent resident who works at industrial equipment distributor Tektronix Southeast Asia

CASE IN WORKERS’ DORMITORY

A 22-year-old India national who stays at the Harvest@Woodlands dormitory was the roommate of a 46-year-old Malaysian man who works as a construction worker at building construction firm H&W Communications.

The younger man was placed on quarantine on May 22 and tested positive two days later.

IMPORTED CASES

The two new cases were placed on stay-home notice upon their arrival here, MOH said.

They were:

• A foreign domestic worker who arrived from Indonesia

• A short-term visit pass holder who came from the United Arab Emirates to visit his Singaporean family member

UPDATE ON REMAINING CASES

The total number of infections in Singapore is now 61,916.

Of these, 61,360 people have fully recovered and been discharged, including 31 on Wednesday.

There are still 242 patients in hospitals. Of these, most are stable or improving, and two are in critical condition.

Another 282 patients are isolated at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still tested positive for Covid-19.

Thirty-two people have died from complications due to the disease.