Covid-19: Tuition teacher at enrichment centre in Yishun among 2 new community cases

SINGAPORE — A tuition teacher who works at a Chinese language enrichment centre in Yishun and a work permit holder employed by PSA Corporation made up the two cases of Covid-19 in the community on Thursday (Feb 25).

In its update on the coronavirus situation here, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the 27-year-old tuition teacher is a permanent resident who works at the Yishun branch of Berries World of Learning School.

The woman developed a runny nose on Feb 23 after work and went to see a general practitioner on Wednesday where she was tested for the coronavirus.

Her test then came back positive for Covid-19 on Thursday and she was taken to the Singapore General Hospital.

MOH added that the woman’s serology test for past infection is pending.

“As a precautionary measure, the Yishun branch of Berries World of Learning School will be closed until Feb 28 for cleaning and disinfection,” it said.

The other case in the community is a 33-year-old Malaysian man who works as a lashing specialist at PSA Corporation.

The work permit holder had arrived from Malaysia on Dec 23 and served his stay-home notice at a dedicated facility until Jan 6.

The man’s swab test taken on Jan 3 during quarantine was negative, MOH said.

Having no symptoms, he was diagnosed when his pooled Covid-19 test taken last Sunday as part of the routine testing of workers came back positive for the coronavirus the next day.

An individual test was done on Feb 23, and he was confirmed to have Covid-19 on Wednesday.

He was then taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

MOH said that the man’s previous results — the last being on Feb 13 — were negative for the virus.

“His serology test result has come back positive but we have assessed that this is likely a current infection,” it said.

The man had received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Jan 22, and the second dose on Feb 14.

“This accounts for his positive serology test as he has likely started producing antibodies following vaccination,” it said.

“However, as it typically takes a few weeks for an individual to build up immunity after completing vaccination, he was likely to have been infected before he was conferred protection after vaccination.”

The ministry said that overall, the number of new cases in the community has gone up slightly from three in the week before to four in the past week. The number of cases with no known links in the community has also gone up from one in the week before to two in the past week.

IMPORTED CASES

There are eight imported cases of Covid-19 confirmed on Thursday and all had been placed on stay-home notices upon their arrival here.

They are:

• Two Singaporeans and two permanent residents who returned from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka

• Three work permit holders who arrived from Indonesia and the Philippines, all of whom are foreign domestic workers

• A short-term visit pass holder who came from India to visit her family member here

UPDATE ON REMAINING CASES

The total number of infections in Singapore is now 59,900.

Of these, 59,785 people have fully recovered and been discharged, including 24 on Thursday.

There are still 16 patients in hospitals, including one who is in critical condition under intensive care.

Another 70 patients are isolated at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still tested positive for Covid-19.

Twenty-nine people have died from complications due to the disease.