Singapore — A woman who allegedly works at Jurong Fishery Port also does part-time work in the evenings at a KTV lounge, according to a media report.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post on Monday (Jul 19) that the cases in the two clusters, which are the biggest in Singapore at present, are linked, based on phylogenetic studies that scientists have conducted.
As of Jul 19, 163 new cases of locally transmitted infections were reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH), of which 116 were linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster and 20 were from the KTV cluster.
As for the woman who allegedly works in both areas, Shin Min Daily News reported on Saturday (Jul 17) that the woman is a confirmed case. The report said she is a Vietnamese national and added that sources who work at Jurong Fishery Port have said she is “responsible for back-end work.”
Shin Min also said the female worker was recruited for a part-time night job at a KTV club. It added that those who work near her at the port had been scheduled for testing for Covid-19.
The Health Minister said in his post that the KTV cluster is settling down but added that the cluster at the port is “rising worryingly.”
He said the first to be ring-fenced at Jurong Fishery Port were its 700 workers, all of whom have been quarantined.
Mr Ong said “several cases” of Covid-19 had been detected among them.
Additionally, more than 861 fishmongers, delivery drivers and other personnel had been given health risk warnings, which require them to go for PCR testing and to isolate themselves in the meantime.
“We have more or less completed testing and detected 26 cases amongst them. It is a high number,” wrote Mr Ong.
The stallholders of all other markets were also notified that they need to be tested at regional centres as a precautionary measure. Even residents of areas around the markets that have shown positive cases have been advised to minimise movements and social interactions.
The Health Minister also wrote that the National Environment Agency will conduct wastewater testing in as many locations as practicable.
He added that people who have yet to be vaccinated need to stay at home, especially the elderly.
Even those who are vaccinated but have family members who are senior citizens should avoid going out as much as possible in order to prevent bringing “the virus home,” Mr Ong said. /TISG