Some 400 Changi Airport workers cleared of Covid-19 in special testing ops

SINGAPORE — After a testing exercise for some workers at Changi Airport, the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported on Friday (Jan 29) that none of them are infected with the coronavirus.

The tests were done for those who had been working from Dec 31 at Jewel Changi Airport and Changi Airport Terminal 3.

“In total, 409 staff were tested and all the results have come back negative for Covid-19 infection,” MOH said.

The ministry said earlier this week that it had begun testing the workers there after three community cases tested positive for the more contagious British variant of the coronavirus. 

The three cases — which include a South Korean work permit holder as well as a Singaporean couple — were found to have been at the airport locations at around the same time.

The couple, both aged 39, had visited Jewel Changi Airport on Dec 31 between 2.35pm and 9.50pm, while the South Korean man, aged 24, was at Changi Airport Terminal 3 that same day between 7.48pm and 8.49pm.

On Friday, MOH said that the testing operation for employees who were working at both locations is completed.

CNA reported that as of Jan 26, five of the 25 cases of the British B117 variant are community infections and 20 are imported from Europe.

MOH said that there are another two imported cases from Europe that have tested "preliminarily positive and are pending confirmatory results".

The B117 Sars-CoV-2 variant is one of a few mutated strains of the coronavirus to have caused concern around the world as it is said to be potentially more contagious.