Two new cases of Covid-19 have surfaced at two nursing homes, again raising concerns about the vulnerability of senior citizens to the disease.
Singapore has had 20 confirmed infections among both staff and residents at five nursing homes.
On Wednesday, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) said a 40-year-old healthcare assistant at the Sunshine Welfare Action Mission (Swami) home in Sembawang was confirmed to have Covid-19 on Monday, and is now in isolation at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. She was last at work on Sunday.
Separately, an 86-year-old female resident of Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital (KWSH) in Serangoon Road was confirmed to have the infection on Tuesday, and has been isolated at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
AIC said precautionary measures have been taken, including a thorough cleaning and disinfection of the ward and affected areas of both homes.
Contact tracing is ongoing and those who had close contact with the confirmed cases will be quarantined.
Together with the Ministry of Health (MOH), AIC said it is prepared to provide both homes with additional support during this period if required to ensure service continuity for their residents.
The Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home remains the largest nursing home cluster, with 16 cases. Of those infected, two have died and at least eight have been discharged.
When contacted for a comment, both homes directed The Straits Times to their websites.
In a detailed statement on its website, Swami said it had reached out to the family of its infected employee to offer support, and was keeping families of its residents updated.
Swami also added that it was working with MOH and AIC to screen residents and staff, and would closely monitor their health.
Similarly, KWSH said it was in contact with the family of the resident and was implementing control measures at its premises, as per guidelines from MOH and AIC.
On Wednesday, MOH announced that an 84-year-old Singaporean woman had died of Covid-19. She was not known to be linked to any other case.
Twelve people in Singapore have died of the coronavirus - the youngest was 64 years old, and the oldest was 95. Both were men.
In an interview on The Straits Times' Big Story on Wednesday, Professor Dale Fisher, chair of infection control at the National University Hospital, noted that the virus is "really smart", adding that it can find vulnerable people and is still leaking into nursing homes unnoticed, despite efforts to stop it.
"We have got very aggressive efforts in the nursing homes and it still finds its way in," he said.
According to MOH statistics, there were 16,059 beds in nursing homes last year, as well as 7,600 places for non-residential daycare services.
