ICA puts officer to work in front line processing arrival clearance despite he can’t be vaccinated

On Sunday (2 May), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that one of the community cases was linked to the earlier ICA officer who was infected with COVID-19 while working at the Changi Airport Terminal 1.

Identified as Case 62757, the person is an ICA officer deployed at the Home Team Academy. He is a close contact to the ICA officer working at Terminal 1. When the 38-year-old ICA officer deployed at Terminal 1 first tested positive last Wed (27 Apr), the officer at the Home Team Academy was also placed under quarantine the same day. On Sat (1 May), he was tested positive for COVID-19 at the quarantine facility.

In addition, seven family members of the 38-year-old officer have already been confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 from him. They are most likely to have been infected during a family gathering. They include:

1. officer’s wife, 32, nurse working at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH)
2. officer’s father, 72
3. officer’s nephew, 3
4. family member, 39, a private hire driver and security officer at Ion Orchard mall
5. family member 38, a technical officer at SP PowerGrid
6. family member, 65, who works as a telephone operator at Goodwood Park Hotel
7. family member, 33, housewife

The 38-year-old ICA officer works at Changi Airport Terminal 1 as a deputy team leader. He had been deployed at the duty officer counter and processed arrival clearance for travellers at Terminal 1. ICA said he had earlier registered to be vaccinated, but was advised by a doctor that he was not eligible because of a drug allergy.

ICA added that common and staff areas that the officer would have come into contact with have already been disinfected thoroughly. The areas include the immigration counters, immigration offices, pantries and toilets.

Last Fri (30 Apr), MOH Director of Medical Services, Kenneth Mak, assured the public that so far, there has been no “obvious link” between the ICA officer’s wife, a nurse working at TTSH, and the current large cluster mushrooming at the hospital there.

In any case, it’s not known why ICA put the 38-year-old officer at risk working in the front line processing arrival clearance for travellers since he has not been vaccinated. It has been known that many travellers arriving from overseas can be COVID-19 positive even their pre-departure tests have shown that they are negative. Some of the pre-departure test results may even be fake.