TTSH locks down two wards as Covid-19 cluster grows to 9 cases

Two wards at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) were locked down as the nation's first Covid-19 hospital cluster grew to nine cases - people either working or warded at the facility - while the authorities moved aggressively to contain the spread of the virus and uncover all cases.

Eight people - a doctor, a healthcare assistant trainee and six patients - have been linked to a 46-year-old nurse working there who tested positive on Tuesday. These cases were mainly detected through proactive testing, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday.

In all, a total of 16 community cases were reported yesterday, including seven family members of an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer deployed at Changi Airport Terminal 1 who tested positive earlier.

This is the highest single-day tally Singapore has recorded since July last year.

TTSH has stepped up clinical surveillance of all inpatients who may develop fever and acute respiratory infection symptoms. As a precautionary measure, all patients and staff in other TTSH wards will also be tested for Covid-19, including those with no symptoms.

"This additional testing will enable us to draw out any hidden links," said the MOH in a statement.

"Our strategy is to aggressively test and draw a wide ring around the cases, to try and prevent further spread."

Staff and patient movement in all the main wards has been minimised to prevent cross-infection, and no visitors are allowed into the hospital except those for critically ill patients.

In addition, elective cases will be deferred, unless urgent, and non-life-threatening accident and emergency cases will be redirected to other hospitals.

All close contacts of the cases, including patients, visitors and staff who have been in the affected wards, will also be placed on quarantine.

Those who were at the hospital yesterday told The Straits Times that they were confident the hospital is taking steps to ensure that infections are reined in.

Other hospitals across the island are also on alert, and told ST that strict infection prevention procedures were in place.

SingHealth, for instance, said that as a precautionary measure, all its institutions will step up screening of patients and visitors to its campuses.

• Tan Tock Seng Hospital wards 7D and 9D, where infected patients had stayed, have been locked down. All close contacts of the cases, including patients, visitors and staff who have been in these wards, will be quarantined.

• Clinical surveillance of all inpatients who may develop fever and acute respiratory infection symptoms being stepped up. •All patients and staff in other wards, even if asymptomatic, will also be tested.

• Staff and patient movement in the hospital's main wards has been minimised to prevent cross-infection.

• No visitors are allowed except for critically ill patients.

• Elective cases have been deferred. Accident and emergency cases that are not life-threatening will be redirected to other hospitals.

As the virus rages elsewhere in the world, experts said the cluster here was cause for concern, and a stark reminder to remain vigilant.

Professor Dale Fisher, a senior infectious diseases consultant at the National University Hospital, said: "We know Covid-19 is very unforgiving. Such a cluster could have occurred anywhere and we just have to make sure that if there is a case at a hospital, it will be picked up and not allowed to spread."

Meanwhile, 32 ICA officers at Changi Airport have been placed under quarantine while around 100 will be tested for Covid-19, after a 38-year-old ICA officer working there tested positive.

Following his positive test on Tuesday, seven of his family members have been found to be infected, forming another new cluster to make up a total of eight open clusters currently.

There were 28 cases in the community in the past week - up from 10 in the week before, MOH said.

The last community case announced yesterday is a 39-year-old Vietnamese woman working as a cleaner at a community care facility at Tuas South.

The woman, who had been fully vaccinated, also helped out at a food stall at the National University of Singapore's Bukit Timah campus.