7 family members of ICA officer test positive for COVID-19, including 3-year-old boy
30 Apr 2021 02:08AM
Singapore
Airport staff wearing protective face masks walk along the transit hall of Changi Airport Terminal 1. (Photo: Calvin Oh)
(Updated: 30 Apr 2021 02:10AM)
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SINGAPORE: Seven COVID-19 community cases have been linked to an
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer whose infection was confirmed on Tuesday (Apr 27), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday.
All seven are Singaporeans and are family members of the 38-year-old man, including his 3-year-old nephew who tested positive.
They had all been placed on quarantine earlier after being identified as close contacts of the man, who is identified as Case 62517.
"All eight had gathered for a meal on Apr 25, where transmission was likely to have taken place," MOH said.
They have been identified as Cases 62571, 62572, 62576, 62583, 62594, 62595 and 62597.
The seven family members were among 16 new community cases reported in Singapore on Thursday, the most reported in one day in more than nine months.
READ: 16 new community COVID-19 cases in Singapore, highest in more than 9 months
READ: Authorities quarantine 32 ICA officers deployed at Changi Airport who are close contacts of COVID-19 case
3-YEAR-OLD WHO TESTED POSITIVE AMONG FAMILY MEMBERS
Case 62571 is a 39-year-old man who works as a security officer at ION Orchard and as a private-hire car driver. His last day of work was Tuesday and was placed under quarantine on the same day.
The man developed a cough on Wednesday, but did not report this symptom. However, he was tested for COVID-19 on the same day and his test came back positive later that day.
Case 62572 is the 3-year-old the nephew of the ICA officer. He last attended school on Apr 22, and he was also placed under quarantine on Tuesday.
The boy developed a fever on Wednesday, and his parents reported his symptom. On the same day, he was tested for COVID-19, and his test came back positive later that day. He was taken to the National University Hospital on Thursday.
READ: Second ward in Tan Tock Seng Hospital locked down; 2 more staff members, 6 patients positive for COVID-19
Case 62576 is a 33-year-old housewife who is asymptomatic. She was also placed under quarantine on Tuesday and tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
The wife of the ICA officer, a 32-year-old who works as a nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), is also part of the cluster.
Identified as Case 62583, she was placed under quarantine on Apr 28, MOH said. She tested positive for COVID-19 later that day and is asymptomatic.
MOH added that she is not linked to the separate TTSH cluster of COVID-19 infections.
"She does not work in Ward 9D or Ward 7D," MOH said.
"Based on our epidemiological investigation, there is no link between Case 62583 and the TTSH cluster.
"However, the testing of all staff in TTSH wards will serve as an additional check on this," said the ministry.
The officer's father, who lives in the same household as him, also tested positive for COVID-19 during quarantine.
The 72-year-old retiree, who is asymptomatic, was placed under quarantine on Tuesday and tested positive on Thursday. He is identified as Case 62594.
Case 62595 is a 65-year-old man who works as a telephone operator at the Goodwood Park Hotel. His last day at work was on Tuesday, and he was placed under quarantine on the same day.
He is asymptomatic and tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
The remaining infection in the cluster is Case 62597, a 38-year-old technical officer at SP PowerGrid.
He was placed under quarantine on Tuesday and developed a cough and body aches the next day.
He was tested for COVID-19, and his test came back positive on Thursday.
READ: Tan Tock Seng Hospital to redirect some A&E cases to other hospitals after COVID-19 cluster emerges
ICA OFFICER AT CHANGI AIRPORT
The ICA officer, who had been deployed at Changi Airport Terminal 1,
tested positive on Apr 27, after he sought treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for a fever, loss of sense of smell and body aches.
A few days before that, on Apr 23, he had developed a cough and was given two days of medical leave by a general practitioner.
His previous swabs from routine testing, the last being on Apr 22, were negative for the coronavirus.
MOH said he had not gone to work after the onset of symptoms.
READ: Junction 8, VivoCity, Bugis Junction among places visited by COVID-19 cases during infectious period
ACTIVE CLUSTERS
Singapore now has eight active COVID-19 clusters, including one linked to a nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
There are three cases in the cluster linked to a 79-year-old Indian national who travelled from India to visit his son, a Singapore permanent resident. The son, who had
requested to take care of his mother at a quarantine facility, was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Apr 24.
One cluster of seven cases is linked to a resident at Westlite Woodlands dormitory, while another cluster involves
Indonesian sea crew members.
There is a cluster linked to
an accountant at OM Universal. Her son and husband who is a restaurant manager have tested positive. Their infections are linked to a household contact - an imported case who was
"probably re-infected" in India, MOH said previously.
Three cases are in the cluster involving a
National University of Singapore researcher, and there are four cases linked to a man who arrived from
Papua New Guinea for a work project.
As of Thursday, Singapore has reported a total of 61,121 COVID-19 cases and 30 fatalities.