• A retiree was among new Covid-19 community cases
• MOH found no evidence he is linked to TTSH cluster
• Two other community cases have no known links to past infections
• The fourth community case is a family member of an infected trailer truck driver  
• There were 21 imported cases, 16 of which came from India

SINGAPORE — A 72-year-old retiree who routinely visits the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) Eye Centre for an eye condition was one of the four Covid-19 community cases reported on Friday (May 7), though the authorities said that they found “no evidence” that he is linked to the hospital cluster.

In its update on the coronavirus situation here, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the man had been taken to Raffles Hospital for a heart condition on May 5, and was tested for Covid-19 the next day even though he did not have any symptoms.

The man — who had already been fully vaccinated — tested positive for Covid-19 on May 7.

“His Ct value was very high and his serology test result has come back positive. He could be shedding minute fragments of the virus RNA from a past infection which are no longer transmissible and infective to others, but given that we are not able to definitively conclude when he had been infected, we will take all the necessary public health actions as a precautionary measure,” MOH said.

The ministry added that the man had last visited the TTSH eye centre on April 23 and had not been to any of the affected wards.

The two other cases on Friday who have no known links to other community infections are a 48-year-old man who works as a senior executive at IGWT Private Limited on Shenton Way, as well as a fully vaccinated 53-year-old woman who is a cleaner at Park Avenue Rochester — a stay-home notice dedicated facility.

MOH said that the man has largely been working from home but his work requires him to board shipping vessels “periodically” — the last being on March 1.

The permanent resident had been in Russia from Oct 30 to Jan 30 and had served his quarantine until Feb 13. His test taken during that time was negative.

MOH said that the man — who did not have any symptoms — was detected when he was tested on May 5 as part of its testing protocol for shore-based personnel boarding vessels.

His test results came back positive for Covid-19 the next day and he was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

Similar to the retiree, the man’s Ct value was “very high” and he could be shedding minute fragments of the virus RNA from a past infection that are no longer transmissible, MOH said.

The woman — whose job does not involve her interacting with guests on stay-home notice at the hotel — had developed a runny nose and sore throat after work on May 5.

The next day, she developed a fever and sought treatment at a general practitioner clinic where she was tested for the coronavirus.

Her test result came back positive on May 7 and she was taken to the Singapore General Hospital.

MOH said that the woman’s earlier tests — the last being on March 29 — were all negative.

CLUSTER INVOLVING LASHING SPECIALIST

The fourth Covid-19 community case on Friday is a 58-year-old Singaporean man who is unemployed. He is a family member and household contact of two previously confirmed cases — a trailer truck driver at Pasir Panjang Terminal and a 22-year-old full-time national serviceman based at Sembawang Camp.

The man was placed on quarantine on May 4 and developed chills at night the next day. He then reported his symptoms to the authorities.

On May 6, the man developed a fever and was tested for Covid-19, which came back positive the same day.

He was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has risen from 35 in the week before to 43 in the past week.

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

IMPORTED CASES

There were 21 imported cases of Covid-19 recorded on Friday and all had been placed on stay-home notice upon their arrival here, MOH said.

They were:

• Four Singaporeans and 11 permanent residents who returned from India

• Two work pass holders who came from Germany and the Maldives

• Three work permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh, Myanmar and the Philippines, one of whom is a foreign domestic worker

• One short-term visit pass holder who came from India for her upcoming marriage to her Singaporean fiance

MOH stressed that the imported cases who had arrived from the Indian sub-continent had already come into Singapore before the restrictions on travellers from there were imposed recently.

UPDATE ON REMAINING CASES

The total number of infections in Singapore is now 61,311.

Of these, 60,906 people have fully recovered and been discharged, including 33 on Friday.

There are still 138 patients in hospitals. Of these, most are stable or improving, and two are in critical condition.

Another 236 patients are isolated at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still tested positive for Covid-19.

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