Family suspected of causing Covid-19 cluster in Changi Airport Terminal 3 not from India

No specific country was mentioned.

Belmont Lay | May 24, 2021, 01:29 PM

The family suspected to have brought Covid-19 to Changi Airport Terminal 3 causing a cluster there did not fly in from India.

This was revealed in a May 23 joint statement by the transport, foreign and manpower ministries in Singapore in response to media queries.

However, the exact country of origin was not made known.

No other details have been made available except that the family had arrived on a flight from a South Asian country.

The joint statement was released as concern has heightened in Singapore over the B1617 variant, which was first detected in India.

25 passengers from India on average daily

An average of 25 passengers arrive in Singapore from India on the repatriation flights daily.

The vast majority who do so are returning Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

The flights back to India each day see an average of 180 passengers departing from Singapore.

India-Singapore flights reduce vastly

India has banned all international commercial services to and from Singapore since March 2020.

The only passenger flights now operating between Singapore and India are Vande Bharat flights, also known as repatriation flights, that operate out of Terminal 1, the joint statement said.

These flights that carry passengers both ways are operated by Indian carriers designated by the Indian government, with the approval of the Singapore government.

The ministries said Singapore Airlines operates only cargo flights to India.

Background

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) said on May 21 that the T3 cluster could have occurred through an airport worker who was assisting a family from South Asia.

CAAS and CAG did not mention the country of origin of the family.

The family arrived in Singapore on April 29, 2021, and later tested positive for Covid-19.

The T3 cluster has grown over a week to more than 100 people.

Airport workers from the initial batch tested carried the B1617 variant.

Top photo via Unsplash