MOH investigating 2 new Covid-19 clusters at Punggol and Toa Payoh bus interchanges

There are 11 cases linked to Punggol Bus Interchange (left) and 25 cases linked to the Toa Payoh Bus Interchange cluster. PHOTOS: SCREENGRAB FROM GOOGLE MAPS

SINGAPORE - All staff at Punggol Bus Interchange and Toa Payoh Bus Interchange will be tested for Covid-19 after clusters were detected at these places on Thursday (Aug 26).

There are 11 cases linked to Punggol Bus Interchange, comprising 10 employees and a household contact of a staff member.

The Toa Payoh Bus Interchange cluster has 25 cases, all of whom are staff working there.

In its daily update, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said it is investigating both clusters, adding that all close contacts of cases will be placed in quarantine.

With these, there are four active Covid-19 clusters linked to bus interchanges, including those in Bishan and Sengkang, which were both announced on Aug 14.

The cluster at Sengkang Bus Interchange remained at 22 cases, while the Bishan Bus Interchange cluster grew to 21 cases, with two infections added on Thursday.

The ministry also announced a third new cluster with three infections at Bangkit 257 Coffee House in Bukit Panjang.

There are 68 active clusters, ranging between three and 1,155 infections.

In all, there were 112 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases on Thursday.

Of these, 40 new cases were added to the Bugis Junction cluster, which now has 101 cases.

Of the remaining 72 local cases, 31 were linked to previous cases and already quarantined. Another 17 linked cases were not in quarantine when they tested positive.

The remaining 24 were unlinked cases.

There were also four imported cases who were detected and placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. Three of these cases were detected upon arrival in Singapore, while one developed the illness during stay-home notice or isolation.

There are currently 343 cases hospitalised, 17 of whom have serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation. Seven are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 290 cases in the week before to 405 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has increased from 78 cases in the week before to 126 cases in the past week.

As at Wednesday, 79 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated, while 83 per cent have received at least one dose.

Read the full MOH press release here.

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