Coronavirus: 14 more test positive at Admiralty welfare home

Another 12 residents and two employees at a welfare home in Admiralty have tested positive for Covid-19, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said yesterday.

The infected residents and staff of Acacia Home are now warded at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, said the ministries in a joint statement.

The 14 of them were tested for the virus on Sunday, after a 62-year-old resident at the home tested positive last Saturday night.

As a precautionary measure, a total of 167 people, comprising 115 residents, 31 employees and 21 contractors who had been to the home to do essential work in the past four weeks, were tested for the virus.

Apart from the infected 14, the remaining 153 tested negative. Contract tracing is ongoing, said the statement.

Acacia Home is a welfare home for destitute people, and is managed by Sathya Sai Social Service and funded by MSF. All its staff and residents have been placed on quarantine. Sathya Sai Social Service will deploy employees from other facilities to ensure that the home's operations are not disrupted.

The home has also been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected promptly, said the joint statement.

MSF said its immediate priority is to support the home, its staff and residents.

"To safeguard their health and well-being, all staff are now required to use full personal protection equipment. All residents must now always wear a surgical mask," the ministry said, adding that the home has stopped taking in new residents since Saturday.

MSF said it is monitoring the situation closely and will step up checks. It also reminded all homes to abide by the precautionary measures given in the ministry's advisories.

"Residential and community-based facilities are reminded to be vigilant when conducting health checks on staff and residents, and to observe high standards of personal and environmental hygiene," the statement said.

"This includes keeping the facility's environment clean, and frequent washing of hands with soap - especially before the preparation and consumption of meals, after toilet visits or when hands are dirtied by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing."

Experts have said the elderly are the most vulnerable in the coronavirus pandemic, with higher risk of complications and death.

In Singapore, 14 people have died from Covid-19 infection. They are all seniors between 64 and 95 years old.