Positive cases in dormitory mostly from marine sector

The 19 workers from Westlite Woodlands dormitory who have tested positive for Covid-19 are mostly from the marine sector, and a stop work order has been issued for their worksite, Second Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng said yesterday.

Giving an update on the cases in the dormitory during a virtual news conference, Dr Tan said the authorities made three key moves to quickly isolate, detect and contain infections after a 35-year-old Bangladeshi migrant worker tested positive for the virus as part of his rostered routine testing on Monday.

First, around 30 of his close contacts in the dormitory and workplace were isolated, and placed on quarantine, he said.

One of the close contacts - his roommate - tested positive for Covid-19 at a dedicated quarantine facility.

Second, a special testing operation in the dormitory was conducted as a precaution. Around 1,200 workers were tested and placed under quarantine.

As at yesterday, 17 workers who had recovered from Covid-19 have tested positive. None of the 17 has been vaccinated.

They were immediately isolated and sent to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) to investigate for possible re-infection, said Dr Tan.

"Clinical investigation is ongoing and NCID will need more time to establish if these are prolonged shedding from old infections or are re-infection cases," he said, adding that investigations into the possible source of infection are ongoing.

Ministry of Health's (MOH) director of medical services Kenneth Mak said yesterday that the investigations could take up to one or two weeks to complete.

Following the special testing operation in the dormitory, workers in the affected block were quarantined to prevent and contain the possible spread of infection in the dormitory. The operation was also extended to all workers in the entire dormitory.

Workers have been restricted from leaving the dormitory until the test results are out, Dr Tan said.

The Bangladeshi worker who was the first case detected in the dorm had showed symptoms despite having received his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on March 12 and the second dose on April 13.

MOH has said he is likely to have been infected before the protection accorded by the vaccine kicked in, as it takes a few weeks for an individual's immunity to build up after receiving the second jab.

"The re-emergence of cases in the dormitory reminds us of the need to stay vigilant," Dr Tan said.