2 unlinked Covid-19 community cases include engineer who tested positive on Feb. 6 after vaccination on Jan. 27

The other unlinked community case is a bus driver who frequently worked at Changi Airport.

Ashley Tan | February 08, 2021, 11:21 PM

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed an additional 22 cases of Covid-19 in Singapore on Monday (Feb. 8).

This brings the total number of cases to 59,721.

Two cases in the community

There are two cases in the community reported that are currently unlinked.

Case 60051

Case 60051 is a 49 year-old male Singaporean who works as a bus driver employed by Cobb & Coach Services Pte Ltd.

His job includes transporting individuals placed on SHN from Changi Airport to dedicated SHN facilities. His bus is disinfected after every trip.

He developed a runny nose on Jan. 31 but did not seek medical attention. He was subsequently detected when he was tested on Feb. 5 as part of routine testing.

His pooled test result came back positive for Covid-19 on Feb. 6, and an individual test was done later that night at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

His test result came back positive for Covid-19 infection the next day and he was conveyed in an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

His earlier tests from RRT – the last being on Jan. 23 – were negative for Covid-19 infection. His serology test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

Case 60052

Case 60052 is a 30 year-old male Indian national who is a Work Pass holder, and works as an engineer at Station Satcom Pte Ltd. As part of his job, he boards ships to install communications and IT equipment.

He had earlier been identified as a close contact of Case 59208, and was placed on quarantine from Jan. 13 to Jan. 24.

His swabs taken during quarantine on Jan. 13 and Jan. 21 were negative for Covid-19. Subsequent tests done as part of routine testing – the last being on Jan. 29 – were also negative for Covid-19.

He developed fatigue on Feb. 4, and a fever the next day but did not seek medical attention. On Feb. 5, he was tested for Covid-19 as part of routine testing.

His test result came back positive for Covid-19 infection the next day, and he was conveyed in an ambulance to NCID.

While his serological test taken on Feb. 7 has come back positive, this is assessed to be a recent infection as he is symptomatic, and the Ct value for his polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was low.

Case 60052 received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Jan. 27, which accounts for his positive serology test as he has likely started producing antibodies following vaccination.

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.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing. Meanwhile all identified close contacts of the cases have been isolated and quarantined, and will be tested.

20 imported cases

The other 20 cases announced today are imported. They had been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, and were tested while serving SHN.

Here is a breakdown of the imported cases:

51 cases discharged

51 more cases of Covid-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities.

In all, 59,484 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

There are currently 44 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

164 are isolated and cared for at community facilities. 29 have passed away from complications due to Covid-19 infection.

Three new locations

MOH regularly updates a list of public places visited by confirmed Covid-19 cases for more than 30 minutes when they were infectious.

There are three new locations reported today:

  • Kallang Wave Mall, Fairprice Extra on Jan. 29
  • Punggol Plaza, Feb. 3 and Feb. 5
  • Don Baasha 24hrs Restaurant, Feb. 5

Those who had been identified as close contacts of confirmed cases would already have been notified by MOH.

As a precautionary measure, persons who had been at these locations during the specified timings should monitor their health closely for 14 days from their date of visit.

They should see a doctor promptly if they develop symptoms of acute respiratory infection (such as cough, sore throat and runny nose), as well as fever and loss of taste or smell, and inform the doctor of their exposure history.

Top photo from Google Maps.