ICA officer and 7 family members form new Covid-19 cluster, wife is TTSH nurse not linked to hospital cases

• Singapore’s Covid-19 community cases reached 16 on April 29
• A new family cluster was formed after an ICA officer and seven of his family members were infected
• The officer’s wife is a nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital but not linked to cluster there
• Eight other cases were linked to a Filipina nurse at the hospital
• One remaining case has no known links yet and was working at a food stall in NUS’ Bukit Timah campus

SINGAPORE — Seven family members of a 38-year-old Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer who had gathered for a meal are now infected with Covid-19, forming a new cluster.

They were part of 16 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the community reported on Thursday (April 29), making it the highest number of community cases seen here in more than nine months when 24 cases were recorded on July 11 last year.

Eight others were linked to a Filipina nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) who first tested positive on April 27, while another case has no known links to confirmed infections so far.

In its evening update on the coronavirus situation in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the ICA family cluster had met on April 25 for a meal, “where transmission was likely to have taken place”.

The ICA officer tested positive for the virus on April 27. 

His family members include:

1. His wife, who is a nurse at TTSH. The 32-year-old woman was placed on quarantine on April 28 and was tested for Covid-19, where her test result came back positive.

MOH said that the woman does not work in Ward 9D, where the Filipina nurse was, or at Ward 7D, where another patient was staying before he was transferred to Ward 9D and diagnosed to have Covid-19.

Based on its investigation, MOH said that there is no link between the woman and the cluster at TTSH.

“However, the testing of all staff in TTSH wards will serve as an additional check on this,” it added.

2. A 39-year-old Singaporean man who works as a security officer at Ion Orchard mall as well as a private-hire car driver. The man’s last day of work was on April 27 and he had interacted with the ICA officer over dinner.

The man was placed on quarantine on April 27 and developed a cough the next day but did not report his symptoms. He was then tested for the virus on April 28 during quarantine and the result came back positive.

3. The officer's three-year-old nephew who last interacted with him on April 25. The boy last attended school on April 22 and was placed on quarantine on April 27.

He developed a fever on April 28 and his parents reported his symptoms. He was tested for Covid-19 that day and confirmed to be infected.

4. A 33-year-old housewife had interacted with the ICA officer over dinner on April 25. His family member, she was placed on quarantine two days later. She did not have any symptoms and her Covid-19 test result came back positive during quarantine.

5. The father of the ICA officer, a 72-year-old retiree who lives with him. He was confirmed to be infected after a test during quarantine.

6. A 65-year-old man who works as a telephone operator at Goodwood Park Hotel and was last at work on April 27. A family member of the ICA officer, they had interacted over dinner.

He was placed on quarantine on April 27 and had no symptoms when he was tested, but his test result came back positive.

7. A 38-year-old Singaporean man who works as a technical officer at SP PowerGrid and had interacted with the ICA officer over the family dinner on April 25.

He was placed on quarantine on April 27 and developed cough and body aches on April 28. On the same day, he was tested and was confirmed to be infected the next day.

VACCINATED WORKER INFECTED

The remaining community case with no known links to confirmed patients yet is a 39-year-old Vietnamese woman who works as a cleaner and who was vaccinated on Jan 27 and Feb 19.

She is employed by Octo Jet Building Maintenance Services and had been deployed to work at a community care facility at Tuas South, MOH said.

At work, the woman wears a full personal protection equipment, including N95 mask, face shield, gown and gloves.

“She also periodically helps out at a food stall at The Summit located at the National University of Singapore’s Bukit Timah campus,” MOH said.

She did not have any symptoms and was detected when she was tested on April 26 as part of the routine testing of workers.

Her pooled test result was positive for Covid-19 and she was taken to NCID on April 27.

An individual test was done there that day and her test result confirmed that she had contracted the virus.

MOH said that the woman’s earlier routine testing — the last being on April 14 — were all negative.

“Her serology test result (for past infection) has come back positive but we have assessed that this is likely a recent infection,” MOH said.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has shot up from 10 in the week before to 28 in the past week.

The number of cases with no known links in the community has also gone up from five in the week before to seven in the past week.

IMPORTED CASES

There were 19 imported cases of Covid-19 recorded on Thursday and all had been placed on stay-home notices upon their arrival here, MOH said.

They were:

• Two Singaporeans and nine permanent residents who returned from India and South Korea

• Three dependant’s pass holders who arrived from India and Sri Lanka

• Five work permit holders who came from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and the Philippines — one of whom is a foreign domestic worker

UPDATE ON REMAINING CASES

The total number of infections in Singapore is now 61,121.

Of these, 60,738 people have fully recovered and been discharged, including 20 on Thursday.

There are still 110 patients in hospitals. Of these, most are stable or improving, and no one is in critical condition, MOH said.

Another 243 patients are isolated at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still tested positive for Covid-19.

Thirty people have died from complications due to the disease.