Visitors to Excelsior Shopping Centre camera shop to be tested for COVID-19; 77 new cases in S'pore

SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 77 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore on Thursday (27 August), taking its total to 56,572.

Of them, two – both Singaporeans – are classified as cases in the community, while five are imported cases. The remaining 70 are foreign workers residing in dormitories, of which 66 had been identified earlier as contacts of previous cases, and had already been quarantined.

Overall, three per cent have of the new cases have no established links.

Separately, all visitors to SLR Revolution located on the first level of the Excelsior Shopping Centre between 15 and 18 August will be tested for COVID-19, after two cases were found to be linked to the camera shop.

Epidemiological investigations had revealed that one of the Singaporean community cases – no. 56626 – had visited SLR Revolution on 17 August and may have made contact with a previous case, no. 56184, said the MOH.

The latter had gone to work at the camera shop during his infectious period, added the ministry.

While the risk of infection for visitors has been assessed to be low, the MOH said it will be contacting those who have been to the shop between 15 and 18 August, and facilitating COVID-19 testing for them as a precautionary measure.

“Those who are unwell when contacted will be conveyed to the hospital for further medical assessment,” said the MOH.

The ministry has advised all visitors to the camera shop during the affected dates to monitor their health and seek medical attention promptly should they develop acute respiratory infection symptoms. They may also call the ministry at 1800- 333-9999 if they have queries, it added.

The other Singaporean community case – no. 56627 – is currently unlinked and epidemiological investigations into it are in progress, said the MOH.

All identified close contacts of the 13-year-old boy have been isolated and placed on quarantine, and will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine period to detect asymptomatic cases, it added.

“We will also conduct serological tests for his household contacts to determine if he could have been infected by them,” said the ministry.

Both community cases had been detected under the enhanced community testing to test all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection at first presentation to a doctor.

The ministry noted that the number of new cases in the community has increased, from an average of one case per day in the week before, to an average of two per day in the past week.

It added that the number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at an average of one case per day in the past two weeks.

The MOH also added Our Tampines Hub as well as a Sheng Siong supermarket outlet and 623 F&B at Elias Mall to a list of public places visited by COVID-19 community cases while they were infectious.

5 imported cases, including seaman on special pass

Among the imported cases, two – 56594 and 56595 – are Singapore residents who returned to Singapore from India on 14 and 15 August.

The other two – 56642 and 56649 – are dependant’s pass and long-term pass holders who arrived from India on 15 August and China on 16 August.

All four had been placed on the 14-day stay-home notice upon their arrival here, and had been tested while serving their notice, said the ministry.

The last case – 56621 – is a seaman holding a special pass holder. He arrived in Singapore from India on 8 August on a vessel, from which he had not disembarked.

“As he had been identified as a close contact of previous cases on the same vessel earlier announced by the MOH, he had been placed on quarantine and was tested during quarantine to determine his status,” said the ministry.

4 cases living in dorms detected via surveillance testing

Among the 70 cases residing in dorms, 66 had been identified earlier as contacts of previous cases and were tested during quarantine to determine their status, said the MOH.

The remaining four cases were detected through surveillance testing, such as the bi-weekly rostered routine testing of workers living in dorms and testing of those with acute respiratory infection symptoms.

Besides the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, or swabbing, the MOH also conducted serological tests to determine if some of these cases are current or past infections.

The serological test results for eight cases have come back positive, which indicate likely past infections, the ministry said.

Separately, a total of 41 dorms, including those at Grandwork Building and the Florence Residences construction site – have been cleared by the authorities and now house only recovered individuals and those who have recently tested negative for COVID-19. They are also no longer active clusters.

Overall, foreign workers residing at dorms make up 94.5 per cent – or 53,466 cases – of Singapore’s total COVID-19 tally.

Over 55,100 cases discharged; no patient in ICU

With 168 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Thursday, 55,139 cases – some 97.4 per cent of the tally – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 66 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while none is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 1,340 patients with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

Apart from 27 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, 15 others who tested positive for the virus were determined to have died from unrelated causes, including three whose deaths were attributed to a heart attack and another four, whose deaths were attributed to coronary heart disease.

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