Singapore
By Jalelah Abu Baker 30 Apr 2021 06:48PM (Updated: 30 Apr 2021 06:50PM )
SINGAPORE: Public places visited by COVID-19 cases in the Tan Tock Seng Hospital cluster will close for two days for cleaning, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced on Friday (Apr 30).
This is to reduce the spread from any potential undetected cases in the community, he said.
"We will close all public places visited by the cases during the likely infectious period for two days for cleaning, and this will also facilitate testing of the staff and workers at these affected areas,” Mr Gan said during a press conference held by the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force.
These locations include places of worship like City Harvest Church and Masjid Hajjah Fatimah at Beach Road, NTUC FairPrice supermarkets in Toa Payoh Hub and VivoCity, and eateries such as Tuk Tuk Cha at Bugis Junction and Four Fingers at Junction 8.
“The aim is to really uncover any hidden cases that may be asymptomatic so that we can effectively contain the spread,” Mr Gan said.
Co-chair of the task force Lawrence Wong said agencies will be approaching the operators and owners of the venues to have them closed.
"I presume most of it will be done over the weekend, Saturday, Sunday in some instances," he said, adding that the authorities want to do it as soon as possible.
The first case detected at the hospital, a nurse, was announced on Wednesday. Twelve other cases in this cluster have since been confirmed.
The Ministry of Health's director of medical services Associate Professor Kenneth Mak said that authorities advise members of the public who visited the same public places to monitor the health closely for the 14 days from the time that they visited the hospital.
Mr Wong added that people who may have been at these public places, at a time when the infected cases were there, who might be exposed will receive text messages to notify them, so that they will monitor their health.
“In addition, we will also alert them and encourage them through the SMS to get themselves tested, so we will send them instructions on where they could possibly go for testing and the testing will be free of charge,” he said.
More cases are expected to emerge in the TTSH cluster through proactive testing done by authorities to "uncover hidden cases", Mr Gan added.
Stating that the Government is “particularly concerned” about the TTSH cluster, Mr Gan said that several groups will be tested - all patients and staff members in the wards at TTSH, whether or not they are symptomatic, patients who had been discharged from TTSH, those who have visited TTSH on or after Apr 18.
"Our testing is ongoing, and we expect to detect more cases in the coming weeks, in coming days," he said.
The list of places is as follows:
List of public places visited by COVID-19 cases in the community during their infectious period. (Image: Ministry of Health)
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Source: CNA/ja(gs)
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Public places visited by COVID-19 cases in Tan Tock Seng Hospital cluster to close for 2 days
Healthcare workers in personal protective equipment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Accident and Emergency (A&E) department on Apr 30, 2021. (Photo: Calvin Oh)By Jalelah Abu Baker 30 Apr 2021 06:48PM (Updated: 30 Apr 2021 06:50PM )
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SINGAPORE: Public places visited by COVID-19 cases in the Tan Tock Seng Hospital cluster will close for two days for cleaning, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced on Friday (Apr 30).
This is to reduce the spread from any potential undetected cases in the community, he said.
"We will close all public places visited by the cases during the likely infectious period for two days for cleaning, and this will also facilitate testing of the staff and workers at these affected areas,” Mr Gan said during a press conference held by the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force.
These locations include places of worship like City Harvest Church and Masjid Hajjah Fatimah at Beach Road, NTUC FairPrice supermarkets in Toa Payoh Hub and VivoCity, and eateries such as Tuk Tuk Cha at Bugis Junction and Four Fingers at Junction 8.
“The aim is to really uncover any hidden cases that may be asymptomatic so that we can effectively contain the spread,” Mr Gan said.
READ: Second ward in Tan Tock Seng Hospital locked down; 2 more staff members, 6 patients positive for COVID-19
READ: 'I'm used to it already': Tan Tock Seng Hospital staff on the risks of working at the heart of a COVID-19 cluster
Co-chair of the task force Lawrence Wong said agencies will be approaching the operators and owners of the venues to have them closed.
"I presume most of it will be done over the weekend, Saturday, Sunday in some instances," he said, adding that the authorities want to do it as soon as possible.
The first case detected at the hospital, a nurse, was announced on Wednesday. Twelve other cases in this cluster have since been confirmed.
The Ministry of Health's director of medical services Associate Professor Kenneth Mak said that authorities advise members of the public who visited the same public places to monitor the health closely for the 14 days from the time that they visited the hospital.
Mr Wong added that people who may have been at these public places, at a time when the infected cases were there, who might be exposed will receive text messages to notify them, so that they will monitor their health.
“In addition, we will also alert them and encourage them through the SMS to get themselves tested, so we will send them instructions on where they could possibly go for testing and the testing will be free of charge,” he said.
More cases are expected to emerge in the TTSH cluster through proactive testing done by authorities to "uncover hidden cases", Mr Gan added.
Stating that the Government is “particularly concerned” about the TTSH cluster, Mr Gan said that several groups will be tested - all patients and staff members in the wards at TTSH, whether or not they are symptomatic, patients who had been discharged from TTSH, those who have visited TTSH on or after Apr 18.
"Our testing is ongoing, and we expect to detect more cases in the coming weeks, in coming days," he said.
The list of places is as follows:
List of public places visited by COVID-19 cases in the community during their infectious period. (Image: Ministry of Health)
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Source: CNA/ja(gs)
Continue reading...