Screening officer at Changi Airport who met 12 others for tennis after showing symptoms among new Covid-19 cases

• Singapore recorded 58 new Covid-19 cases, of which 55 were imported
• One of the three community cases was an aviation screening officer who met 12 others for tennis after showing symptoms
• The other two community cases are a husband-and-wife pair

SINGAPORE — An aviation screening officer at Changi Airport who met 12 others for tennis days after he developed symptoms of Covid-19 was one of three new locally transmitted cases recorded on Saturday (Jan 30). 

The community infections were among 58 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MOH). The other 55 were imported cases, including 32 foreign domestic workers.

Saturday’s count is the highest in a single day since Sept 11 last year, when there were 86 infections reported.

COMMUNITY CASES 

In its evening update, MOH said that one of the three cases in the community was a 72-year-old Singaporean aviation screening officer employed by security company Certis Cisco at Changi Airport Terminal 1. 

His job entails screening baggage of arriving passengers and directing passengers to the baggage-screening lanes.

Even though he developed a cough and sore throat on Monday, he did not seek medical treatment. He went to work on Wednesday and underwent Rostered Routine Testing for those at greater risk of contracting coronavirus. 

He was confirmed on Friday to have been infected with Covid-19, after a pooled-test result came back positive on Thursday night. 

On Thursday, however, he met 12 others for tennis at the National Service Resort and Country Club in Changi.

Investigations are under way to assess if there had been any breach of prevailing precautions to combat Covid-19. Gatherings of more than eight are banned.

MOH said that the man received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Monday at a vaccination centre at Changi Airport. 

“As the vaccine does not contain live virus, he could not have been infected due to vaccination. It is possible for one to be infected just before or just after vaccination, as it typically takes a few weeks for an individual to build up immunity after completing vaccination,” MOH said. 

The other two community cases are a husband-and-wife pair. 

One of them is a 68-year-old Singapore permanent resident (PR) who is a cleaner at Broadway coffee shop along Yishun Street 81.

He developed a sore throat and body aches on Tuesday, but did not seek medical attention. He went to work on Wednesday, developed a runny nose that night and stayed home the next day. 

He sought medical treatment at a polyclinic on Friday, where he was tested for the virus. His test came back positive that day and he was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). 

His wife, a 69-year-old PR, developed a cough and flu on Jan 23, but did not seek medical treatment until Friday when she went to the polyclinic with her husband. 

Her test also returned positive for Covid-19 that day and she was taken to NCID. 

MOH urged the public to do their part to reduce the risk of viral transmission. “Those who are unwell, including those showing early or mild symptoms, should be socially responsible and seek medical attention immediately, and stay at home to prevent the spread of illness to others.”

Overall, the number of new Covid-19 cases in the community has dropped from 17 in the week before to three this past week. The number of cases in the community where the origins of infection are unknown has also decreased from three in the week before to two this past week.

MOH, meanwhile, said that it has closed two Covid-19 clusters — one involving a marine surveyor and the other, a harbour pilot — because there have been no new cases linked to the clusters for 28 days, or two incubation periods.  

The total number of Covid-19 infections in Singapore stands at 59,507. 

IMPORTED CASES

The 55 imported cases reported on Saturday are:

• Three Singaporeans and one Singapore PR who returned from Bahrain, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Kingdom

• Four dependant’s pass holders who arrived from France, India and Russia

• One long-term visit pass holder who arrived from India

• Two work-pass holders who arrived from Romania and the United Arab Emirates 

• Forty-one work-permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, of whom 32 are foreign domestic workers

• Three short-term visit pass holders: The first came from Indonesia for a job placement, the second arrived from India to study here, and the third came from Bangladesh to visit a family member who is hospitalised in Singapore 

All of them were given stay-home orders on arrival in Singapore and were tested while serving their isolation periods.

UPDATES ON OTHER CASES

With 15 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Saturday, 59,196 people have fully recovered from Covid-19 in Singapore and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

Forty-six patients are still in hospital. Most are stable or improving, and none of them is in intensive care. 

Another 236 are being isolated and cared for at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive for Covid-19.

Singapore has had 29 deaths from complications due to Covid-19.