One of three new Covid-19 clusters identified on Apr. 10 was the cluster at the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) building at 10 Kallang Road.

ICA released a statement on Apr. 11, saying that three of the five cases linked to the cluster were ICA officers who had all tested positive for Covid-19 on Apr. 8. These are cases 1553, 1650 and 1698.

The other two cases in the cluster were a healthcare assistant (Case 1733), and an Auxiliary Police Officer engaged by ICA at ICA Building (Case 1950), who tested positive for Covid-19 on Apr. 8 and 9 respectively.

The healthcare assistant is listed as Case 1733 and tested positive on Apr. 8, while the Auxiliary Police Officer is listed as Case 1950 and tested positive on Apr. 9.

Details of cases

Case 1553

Case 1553 is a 49-year old male Singapore Citizen.

He last reported for work on Monday, Apr. 6, where he was deployed at ICA’s e-Lobby for approximately two hours to assist customers with their transactions.

The e-Lobby is located at the ground floor of ICA Building and houses self-service kiosks for customers to submit applications and collect passports.

He was wearing a surgical mask throughout his deployment.

The officer developed a high fever later that night, sought medical treatment at a polyclinic the next morning on Apr. 7, and was referred to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) for further medical examination.

He was subsequently confirmed to be infected with Covid-19 on Apr. 8.

Case 1650

Case 1650 is a 42-year old male Singapore Citizen.

He had last reported for work on Mar. 27. The officer is deployed at a staff unit and primarily works in a staff-only area.

On the night of Mar. 29, the officer developed a sore throat, cough and had diarrhoea, and sought medical treatment at a clinic the next morning.

He was given five days of medical leave from Mar. 30 to Apr. 3, which was later extended to Apr. 7.

He was subsequently confirmed to be infected with Covid-19 on Apr. 8.

Case 1698

Case 1698 is a 66-year old female Singapore Citizen.

She last reported for work on Thursday, Mar. 26. The officer is deployed in the same staff unit as case 1650.

The officer felt unwell on 28 March and sought medical treatment at a clinic on the same day.

She was given five days of medical leave from Mar. 30 to Apr. 3.

As her condition did not improve, the officer was admitted to Changi General Hospital on Apr. 7, where she was subsequently confirmed to be infected with Covid-19 on Apr. 8.

Case 1733 

Case 1733 is a 39-year old female Singapore Citizen.

Case 1733 last reported for work on Saturday, Mar. 28, where she was assisting with temperature screening at the entrance of ICA Building. She had worn a surgical mask throughout her deployment.

She developed a fever and cough on Mar. 30 and sought medical treatment at a polyclinic on the same day.

She was on medical leave from Mar. 30 to Apr. 7, and was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital on Apr. 7. She was confirmed to be infected with Covid-19 on 8 April.

Case 1950

Case 1950, Auxiliary Police Officer who was deployed at ICA Building to provide security services, is a 23-year-old male Singapore Citizen.

He last reported for work on Apr. 7. He wore a surgical mask throughout his deployment.

He developed respiratory symptoms on Apr. 8, and was on medical leave from Apr. 8 to Apr. 12.

He was subsequently confirmed to be infected with Covid-19 on Apr. 9.

Action taken by ICA

Those who were identified to be in close contact with the officers have been instructed to stay home, according to the press release.

ICA said that it is closely monitoring the condition of the affected officers, as well as the health of other ICA officers at the ICA Building.

ICA building to be closed for cleaning on Apr. 11

ICA also conducted thorough disinfection of the public and staff areas that the officers could have gone to at ICA Building, in accordance with NEA’s guidelines.

The ICA building will also be closed for "another round of thorough disinfection" on Apr. 11.

Related stories:

Top photo via Ho Robert on Google maps