Coronavirus: Singapore
Westgate and Jem to close for two weeks for cleaning
3 of 7 new unlinked cases went to Westgate recently; the 2 malls will reopen on June 6
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Jem and Westgate malls in Jurong were earlier identified as places visited by Covid-19 cases who were still infectious. The Ministry of Health has urged those who visited the malls from May 10 to 14 to go for free testing.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Jem and Westgate will be closed for two weeks from today to break any potential chain of transmission and to allow their premises to be cleaned thoroughly.
The two Jurong malls had earlier been identified as places visited by Covid-19 cases who were still infectious, leading the Ministry of Health (MOH) to urge visitors to the malls to be swabbed.
Four tested positive during the swabbing exercise, adding to the six Covid-19 cases recently linked to the malls.
"Our epidemiological investigations have found that there is likely ongoing transmission among individuals who visited these malls," said MOH when it announced last night that the malls will reopen on June 6.
The ministry repeated its call for those who visited the malls from May 10 to 14 to go for free testing.
Members of the public will still be able to access Ng Teng Fong General Hospital through Westgate, and the office towers at the two premises will remain open.
Three of the seven unlinked cases announced yesterday had been to Westgate recently. One of them works as a kitchen assistant at Fun Toast at Westgate Tower.
In total, there were 22 new cases of locally transmitted Covid-19 infections, with 15 linked to previous cases. There are no new cases in the dormitories.
Two 19-year-old Singapore Polytechnic (SP) students were among the new cases, adding to the four cases already linked to the polytechnic.
The first is a second-year student from the School of Computing who works part-time as a food processor at Sats Food Services.
He tested positive for Covid-19 during quarantine - he had been identified as a household contact of Case 63462, a 49-year-old woman who works as a factory operator at SMS InfoComm.
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Update on cases
New cases: 29
In community: 22
Imported: 7 (2 Singaporeans, 1 permanent resident, 1 dependant's pass holder, 3 work permit holders)
In dormitories: 0
New community cases in the past week: 199 (61 unlinked cases)
Active cases: 490
In hospitals: 255 (5 in ICU)
In community facilities: 235
Deaths: 32
Patients with Covid-19 who died from other causes: 15
Total discharged: 61,262
Discharged yesterday: 35
TOTAL CASES: 61,799
The second new case is a third-year student from the School of Chemical and Life Sciences. She was last in campus on May 15, when she met Case 63487, an SP student who was announced as a Covid-19 case last week.
The two had met for a co-curricular activity (CCA) and had dinner together outside of school. All other students who had met for the CCA activity on May 15 have been quarantined.
Meanwhile, a 24-year-old food delivery worker was added to the McDonald's delivery riders cluster. He works at the Pasir Ris Elias Community Club outlet.
A two-year-old from My First Skool in Fernvale Link and a five-year-old from M.Y World Preschool at Anchorvale Parkview were also among the cases.
A letter from the Early Childhood Development Agency seen by The Sunday Times said the M.Y World Preschool premises will be closed for thorough cleaning and disinfection tomorrow and Tuesday.
A nine-year-old pupil from Springdale Primary School also tested positive for the virus. She was last in school last Monday.
There were seven imported cases. Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 103 cases in the week before to 199 cases in the past week, MOH said.
The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from 14 cases in the week before to 61 cases in the past week.
