Covid-19: 4 cleaners at Changi Airport T3 among new cases as cluster grows to 46

• Four more cleaners at Changi Airport Terminal 3 have Covid-19 and three are likely infected with the B1617 variant
• The airport cluster has grown to 46
• Of the 24 new cases reported for the day, four have no known sources of infection yet
• There were 10 imported cases and no cases at foreign worker dormitories

SINGAPORE — Four more cleaners at Changi Airport Terminal 3, aged between 33 and 80, were among 34 new Covid-19 cases reported on Thursday (May 13), the Ministry of Health said in its update on the coronavirus situation here.

They are colleagues of an 88-year-old cleaner who worked at the terminal and was first discovered to have Covid-19 on May 5.

Three of the four have also tested positive preliminarily for the B1617 variant from India. They were a 77-year-old Singaporean woman and two Malaysian men aged 33 and 49. The fourth is an 80-year-old Singaporean woman whose serology test result for past infection is pending.

They were among 19 new cases added to the cluster at Changi Airport, bringing the total number of cases there to 46.  

Also among the other new cases in the airport cluster were:

• A 46 year-old Malaysian man employed by airport ground-handler Sats as an auxiliary police officer at Changi Airport. He received his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Feb 21 and the second dose on March 14

• A 45-year-old China national who works as a service personnel at Sats Premier Lounge at Terminal 3. She was identified as a close contact of the 88-year-old cleaner

• A 53-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a cleaner at Abba Maintenance Services. She received her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on April 3 and the second dose on April 24

• A 57-year-old Singaporean man who works as healthcare assistant at Raffles Medical clinic at Terminal 3 Transit. He has tested positive preliminarily for the B1617 variant and had been fully vaccinated for Covid-19

• A 39-year-old Singaporean man who works as a retail executive at a store at Terminal 3. He had been fully vaccinated

• A 44-year-old Singaporean housewife who visited Terminal 3 on numerous occasions

• A 63-year-old Singaporean man who works as an aviation security officer at Terminal 3 and who had been fully vaccinated

• A 44-year-old Singaporean man who works as a private-hire car driver with Gojek. He visited Terminal 3 on May 6. He has tested positive preliminarily for the B1617 variant

OTHER COMMUNITY CASES

Aside from the 19 cases at the airport, another five were reported on Thursday, making a total of 24 community cases. Of these, 20 have been linked to previous cases and four have no known links yet, MOH said.

The five cases were:

• A 47-year-old Singaporean housewife who developed a fever, sore throat and body aches on the night of May 7, but did not see a doctor until May 11. She has tested positive preliminarily for the B1617 variant

• A 43-year-old foreign domestic worker from Myanmar. She developed body aches on the night of May 7, a runny nose on May 8 and a fever and sore throat on May 10

• A 50-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a tutor at Learning Point. She developed diarrhoea and a headache on May 3, a fever on May 6 and cough on May 11

• A 51-year-old foreign domestic worker from the Philippines. She developed a fever on May 8 and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic. On May 12, she developed a fever, cough, runny nose and headache and went back to the same clinic. She has tested positive preliminarily for the B1617 variant

• A seven-year-old student at Yio Chu Kang Primary School. The boy from the Philippines is a household contact of a 33-year-old operating theatre nurse at Sengkang General Hospital who was confirmed to have Covid-19 on May 11

IMPORTED CASES

There were 10 new imported cases reported on Thursday and all had been placed on stay-home notices or isolated upon their arrival here, MOH said.

They were:

• A Singaporean and two Singapore permanent residents who returned from India

• A dependant’s pass holder who came from Nepal

• Two student’s pass holders who came from India

• Two work pass holders who arrived from Nepal and Sri Lanka

• Two short-term visit pass holders. One arrived from India to visit a family member who is a Singapore permanent resident. The other is a sea crew member who arrived from Japan on a vessel and was tested onboard without disembarking

MOH stressed that the imported cases who had arrived from the Indian sub-continent had already come into Singapore before the restrictions on travellers from there were imposed recently.

UPDATE ON REMAINING CASES

The total number of infections in Singapore is now 61,453.

Of these, 61,029 people have fully recovered and been discharged, including 23 on Thursday.

There are still 150 patients in hospitals. Of these, most are stable or improving, and three are in a critical condition.

Another 243 patients are isolated at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still tested positive for Covid-19.

Thirty-one people have died from complications due to the disease.