MOH | News Highlights

4 BREAKTHROUGH CASES

Case Details

a) Cases in the community: 5

There are 5 cases in the community today who are linked to previous cases.

Cases 62348, 62349, 62350 and 62365

Cases 62348, 62349, 62350 and 62365 are sea crew working on board bunker tanker MT ALLI. They had not disembarked from the vessel except to go for COVID-19 testing or vaccination.

As they had been identified as close contacts of Case 62113 [1], they were placed on quarantine on 16 April. Amongst them, 3 are asymptomatic, while Case 62350 developed a cough on 21 April but did not report his symptom. They were tested for COVID-19 on 22 April during quarantine, and their test results came back positive on the same day. Their serology test results are pending.

Cases 62348 and 62350 received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine on 15 April and 7 April respectively. As it typically takes a few weeks for an individual to build up immunity after completing vaccination, they were likely to have been infected before they were conferred protection after vaccination.

Case 62373

Case 62373 is a 45 year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who is a senior executive at Wirana Shipping Corporation. His parents arrived from India on 15 April. His father, Case 62049, tested positive for COVID-19 infection for his on-arrival swab, and was admitted to a hospital. His mother was placed on quarantine from 16 April to 30 April at a government quarantine facility as she had been identified as a flight close contact of Cases 62029 and 62030 [2]. She tested negative for COVID-19 on 15 April for her on-arrival test, and again on 17 April during quarantine.

While Case 62373 had not travelled to India with his parents, he had requested to take care of his mother at the quarantine facility, and moved into the same room as her on 16 April, where he had remained. On 23 April, he developed a blocked nose and reported his symptom. He was conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases the next day, and was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection. His serological test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

Case 62373 received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 26 February and the second dose on 19 March. The COVID-19 vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic disease for the vast majority of those vaccinated, but it is possible for vaccinated individuals to get infected.

Further research is required to determine if the vaccination will also prevent onward transmission of the infection.

Our existing key enablers – safe management measures, testing, and contact tracing – continue to be necessary and effective in helping us to mitigate spread and keep community transmission low.

Source: MOH | News Highlights