Singapore — The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that three more Covid-19 cases have tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant, including a couple who dined at four restaurants.
In a press release on Wednesday (Dec 15), MOH said all three cases are fully vaccinated, with mild or no symptoms.
One of the cases is a 36-year-old male who travelled to Singapore through the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) from the United States.
His pre-departure test in the US on Dec 6 and his on-arrival polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on Dec 8 was both negative.
However, he tested positive for Covid-19 infection on his supervised antigen rapid test (ART) on Dec 10, followed by a positive PCR test on Dec 11.
His 34-year-old spouse with no recent travel history was placed in quarantine on Dec 14 as she had been identified as a close contact. She tested positive for Covid-19 infection on the same day.
MOH noted that the woman worked from home prior to the positive test result.
Between Dec 8 and 9, 2021, the couple had dined at the following restaurants: Mizuki at Ngee Ann City, Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant at Sheraton Towers Singapore and Merci Marcel at Palais Renaissance on Dec 8 and at Signs A Taste Of Vietnam Pho at Orchard Gateway on Dec 9.
According to MOH, “All customer-facing restaurant staff, as well as patrons with SafeEntry check-in and out timings that coincided with the time that the cases were at the restaurants, will be issued Health Risk Warnings (HRW) by MOH.”
“A one-time targeted PCR testing operation will also be conducted for these individuals, whom MOH will contact.”
Meanwhile, all visitors to the affected premises are advised to monitor their health closely and minimise social interactions, as far as possible, for 14 days from their date of visit or interaction. They are encouraged to see a doctor immediately if they feel unwell.
The remaining case is a 54-year-old man who works as a loading cabin assistant at Changi Airport Terminal 3 and had no contact with flight passengers.
His daily Covid-19 tests from Dec 10 to 13 came back negative for the virus. On Dec 14, his PCR test result came back positive.
“The National Public Health Laboratory is conducting whole genome sequencing for all three cases to confirm the variant, and contact tracing is ongoing. All close contacts of the cases will be placed on 10-day quarantine at designated facilities and undergo PCR tests at the start and end of their quarantine,” said MOH.
To date, there are 16 confirmed Omicron cases detected in Singapore, with 14 imported cases and two local cases that are airport passenger service staff.
Given the Omicron variant’s high transmissibility, more cases passing through Singapore’s borders and within the community is expected, said MOH.
“It is important for everyone to continue to play their part and remain vigilant to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, and to come forward to receive your vaccination or booster dose when offered.” /TISG
Read related: COVID-19 update: Omicron may be no worse than earlier variants, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine does offer some protection
Follow Google News
Join us on WhatsApp
Follow us on Telegram