NCID nurse among 3 unlinked community cases; 4 new clusters

A nurse at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases who had interacted with Covid-19 patients was among three unlinked cases in the community reported yesterday.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said the nurse was fully vaccinated and dons full personal protective equipment at work.

She developed a runny nose and sore throat on Monday night, and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner's clinic the next day, where she was tested.

Her earlier tests from rostered routine testing (RRT) - the last being on June 10 - were all negative for Covid-19.

Her serology test result suggests the presence of an early infection.

Linked cases include a cashier at Mustafa Centre, a nurse at the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS), as well as two children.

The 34-year-old cashier at Mustafa Centre was added to the cluster at Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre, which has grown to 82 cases.

The NHCS nurse was linked to the cluster at Block 90 Redhill Close, which currently has four cases.

The 31-year-old man was detected through community surveillance testing for the area, and is a family member and household contact of previous cases.

He is fully vaccinated and his earlier tests from RRT - the last being on June 16 - were all negative for the virus.

Meanwhile, MOH announced four new Covid-19 clusters yesterday.

The two children were added to a new cluster linked to a 38-year-old foreign domestic worker who was confirmed to have the infection on Sunday.

One is an eight-year-old pupil at Alexandra Primary School and the other is a four-year-old pre-schooler at My First Skool (Tanjong Pagar Plaza). Both are household contacts of the maid and family members.

Of the 10 linked cases in the community reported yesterday, eight had already been placed under quarantine and two were detected through surveillance testing.

There were also nine imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notice, said MOH yesterday.

Among them are four permanent residents who returned from India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

Singapore's Covid-19 tally now stands at 62,470.

The number of community cases was 98 in the past week, up from 77 in the previous week. The number of unlinked cases in the past week was 21, up from 19 in the week before.

There are currently 39 active clusters of infection. The clusters linked to a Marina Bay Sands Casino dealer, McDonald's delivery riders and an operations personnel at The Meatery SG were closed, after no new cases were linked to them for 28 days.

Singapore has had 35 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.