Coronavirus pandemic

MOH to contact visitors to Jewel Music Box KTV at HomeTeamNS Khatib after Covid-19 cases traced to premises

Jewel Music Box KTV at HomeTeamNS Khatib was visited by three previous Covid-19 cases during a preview. PHOTO: 10 DOLLAR KTV CLUB/FACEBOOK

The Ministry of Health (MOH) will be contacting and facilitating tests for all visitors who went to Jewel Music Box KTV at HomeTeamNS Khatib on Aug 1 and 2 as a precaution, after investigations found that three coronavirus cases visited the place at the time.

Among them, two had been at the KTV premises for long periods for work, MOH said in a statement yesterday.

Visitors had been invited to preview the new KTV premises that had yet to be opened, and most stayed for a short time.

"The KTV was not operational during the visits and there were no singing activities held. Therefore the risk of infection for visitors is assessed to be low," said MOH.

It also advised all visitors on both days to seek medical attention promptly should they develop acute respiratory infection symptoms.

One of the patients who visited the place was among the three new community cases announced yesterday, and was detected under a measure that requires everyone aged 13 and above diagnosed with acute respiratory infection at clinics to be swabbed.

The cases, comprising two Singaporeans and one work pass holder, are linked to previous patients.

The other two cases had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases and were tested during quarantine.

One is a technician who had boarded a vessel with imported cases to carry out essential repair and maintenance work.

He was placed on quarantine when some crew members were confirmed to have Covid-19, and swabbed even though he was asymptomatic.

There were 16 imported cases reported yesterday, of whom 10 were from the vessel which arrived in Singapore from India on Aug 8.

They are Special Pass holders and had not disembarked from the vessel. As they had been identified as close contacts of previous cases, they were swabbed while on the vessel, where they had remained until their test results came back positive, and were subsequently taken in ambulances to a hospital.

  • Update on cases

  • New cases: 81

    Imported: 16 (2 work pass holders, 1 work permit holder, 3 dependant's pass holders, 10 Special Pass holders)

    In community: 3 (2 Singaporeans, 1 work pass holder)

    In dormitories: 62

    Active cases: 4,113

    In hospitals: 83 (0 in ICU)

    In community facilities: 4,030

    Deaths: 27

    Patients with Covid-19 who died from other causes: 15

    Total discharged: 51,506

    Discharged yesterday: 472

    TOTAL CASES: 55,661

Among the other imported cases, three are dependant's pass holders who arrived from India on July 31 and South Africa on July 29.

Another three cases are work pass and work permit holders who are employed in Singapore. They arrived from Bangladesh on Aug 1 and the Philippines on Aug 2. All had been tested while serving their stay-home notices at dedicated facilities.

Migrant workers in dormitories made up the remaining 62 of 81 new patients announced yesterday, taking Singapore's total to 55,661.

Four clusters in dormitories were closed and now house only recovered individuals and those who have tested negative recently.

The number of new daily cases in the community in a week has remained stable at an average of two cases per day in the past two weeks.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also remained stable at an average of one case per day in the past two weeks.

With 472 cases discharged yesterday, 51,506 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 83 patients remain in hospital, with none in the intensive care unit, while 4,030 are recuperating in community facilities.

Singapore has had 27 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on August 16, 2020, with the headline MOH to contact visitors to Jewel Music Box KTV at HomeTeamNS Khatib after Covid-19 cases traced to premises. Subscribe