VJC student with COVID-19 linked to Changi Airport cluster

Last Wed (5 May), an 88-year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services Pte Ltd as a cleaner at Changi Airport Terminal 3 was confirmed to have contracted the COVID-19 virus.

Subsequently, according to the Health Ministry (MOH), 17 more people who were infected were found to be linked to the 88-year-old cleaner. They have all worked at or been to Changi Airport Terminal 1 or
Terminal 3. MOH has named this the Case 62873 cluster:

1. 47 year-old male Work Permit holder who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services as a cleaner deployed at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He was detected when he was tested on 5 May as part of RRT. His pooled test result came back positive for COVID-19 on the same day. He was conveyed to NCID on 6 May, and an individual test was done. His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 7 May. His serology test result came back positive but he has been assessed to have been re-infected.
2. 18-year-old female Singaporean who is a student at Victoria Junior College (VJC) and was last in school on 5 May. She developed flu-like symptoms after school on 5 May, and a fever the next day. She sought medical treatment at a General Practitioner clinic on 6 May, where she was tested for COVID-19. Her test result came back positive on 7 May.
3. 33-year-old male Singaporean who works as a safety coordinator employed by Shimizu Corporation and deployed at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He was tested for COVID-19 as part of RRT on 4 May. He developed a fever after work on 5 May, and sought medical treatment at a General Practitioner clinic the next day, where he was tested for COVID-19. His test result came back positive on 7 May, as did his RRT pooled test result, and he was conveyed to NCID.
4. 57 year-old male Singaporean who works as an aviation officer at Changi Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. His work entails screen departing and transiting passengers. He was tested for COVID-19 as part of RRT on 5 May and was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 7 May. He was conveyed to NCID in an ambulance.
5. 51 year-old female Work Permit holder who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services as a cleaner deployed at Changi Airport Terminal 3. She is a colleague of the 88-year-old cleaner and was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 8 May. She was conveyed in an ambulance to Gleneagles Hospital. She has tested positive for the B1617  variant.
6. 57 year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Certis Cisco as an Aviation Security Officer at Changi Airport Terminal 3. His job entails queue management and checking of travellers’ documents. He developed a cough on 7 May and sought medical treatment at a General Practitioner clinic on the same day, where he was tested for COVID-19. His test result came back positive on 8 May and was conveyed in an ambulance to Alexandra Hospital. He has tested positive for the B1617 variant.
7. 63-year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services as a trolley handler and cleaner deployed at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He is a colleague of the 88-year-old cleaner. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 9 May and was conveyed in an ambulance to Sengkang General Hospital.
8. 66 year-old male Singaporean who works as a SATS passenger escort at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He developed a runny nose and sore throat on 8 May and sought medical treatment at a General Practitioner clinic on the same day, where he was tested for COVID-19. His test result came back positive on 9 May.
9. 44 year-old male Singaporean who works as an operations personnel at Raffles Medical located at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He developed a blocked nose on 9 May but did not seek medical treatment. He was swabbed on the same day as part of MOH’s special COVID-19 testing operations for all workers in Changi Airport Terminals 1 and 3, as well as Jewel Changi Airport. His test result came back positive on 10 May and he was conveyed in an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
10. 59 year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Certis Cisco as an aviation security officer at Changi Airport Terminal 3. His job entails security screening at the departure hall. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 10 May and was conveyed in an ambulance to NCID.
11. 63-year-old male Singaporean who is also employed by Ramky Cleantech Services working at Changi Airport Terminal 3 – He developed a cough and flu-like symptoms on 7 May night but did not seek medical treatment. He was tested for COVID-19 on 9 May as part of the proactive testing of staff working at Changi Airport Terminal 3. On 10 May, his test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection. He tested positive for the B1617 variant strain.
12. 55 year-old female Singaporean who works at M171 Gourmet Street Coffeeshop. She is the spouse of 57-year-old aviation officer. Her test result came back positive on 10 May.
13. 43 year-old female China national who is employed by EM Services and deployed as a housekeeper at Changi General Hospital. She is a household contact of 51-year-old cleaner employed by Ramky Cleantech Services working at Changi Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. She was tested for COVID-19 and her result came back positive on 10 May. She has the B1617 variant.
14. 56 year-old male Malaysian who is a cleaner at Kopitiam at Changi Airport Terminal 3, and Happy Hawkers at 267 Compassvale Link. He developed a cough and sore throat on 9 May and sought medical treatment after work at Changi General Hospital, where he was tested for COVID-19. His result came back positive on 10 May.
15. 46 year-old female China national who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services as a cleaner at Robinson 77. She is also a household contact of the 51-year-old cleaner employed by Ramky Cleantech Services working at Changi Airport. She was tested for COVID-19 and her result came back positive on 10 May. She also has the B1617 variant.
16. 40 year-old male Malaysian who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services as a premises maintenance officer at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He is a close contact of the 63-year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services as a cleaner deployed at Changi Airport Terminal 3 and confirmed to have COVID-19 on 9 May. The 40-year-old was tested for COVID-19 and his result came back positive on 10 May. He has tested positive for the B1617 variant.
17. 33 year-old female Singaporean who works as an administrative staff at SBY Frozen Food Supply but has been working from home for the past few months. She is a family member and household contact of the 59-year-old male Singaporean who is employed by Certis Cisco as an aviation security officer at Changi Airport Terminal 3. She was tested for COVID-19 and her test result came back positive on 10 May.

VJC student visited Changi Airport Terminal 3

In the case of the 18-year-old VJC student, MOH’s epidemiological investigations have found that she had been at Raffles Medical at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on 23 April, 30 April and 3 May. She also visited Kopitiam located at Changi Airport Terminal 3 Basement 2 on 3 May.

Based on MOH investigations, the 33-year-old safety coordinator and 57-year-old male aviation officer working at Changi Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, had also visited the same foodcourt on 3 May. The student was likely to have been infected while she was at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on 3 May, MOH said.

As a result of the student’s infection, 95 students and 8 staff who had been in close contact with her have been placed under quarantine order.

Furthermore, about 2,200 of students, staff, vendors and visitors of VJC were also swabbed to test for COVID-19.

VJC then went through a massive cleaning exercise to disinfect its premises.