The Government is concerned about the hidden COVID-19 cases in the community in Singapore, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday (3 June) in a Facebook video uploaded on his page.
Sharing updates from a virtual multi-ministry COVID-19 task force meeting that took place this morning, Mr Wong, who co-chairs the task force, said that the recent outbreak in a home for intellectually disabled adults is a “stark reminder” of such cases.
“We are dealing with a very infectious and highly contagious strain of the virus, which is capable of spreading much faster than anything we’ve had to deal with before and causing large clusters to break out easily,” he stressed.
“We have been monitoring the situation carefully and considering what are some of the next steps we might take.”
Mr Wong subsequently urged the public to strictly adhere to the current precautions and safeguards against the coronavirus.
“Stay home as much as possible work from home, whenever you can, and minimize your daily contact. Should you feel unwell, see a doctor and get yourself tested right away. These are very critical measures,” he said.
The Government, Mr Wong added, will “continue to ramp up testing and speed up our vaccination program”.
“So when your turn comes, do book a vaccination slot and get yourself vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said.
At the time of writing, the video has garnered 2,800 Likes out of 3,100 reactions and 42,000 views.
The outbreak Mr Wong referred to earlier involved 27 people at the MINDSville @ Napiri Adult Disability Home in Hougang.
The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said on Wednesday night that 23 residents and four staff members at the home tested positive for COVID-19.
None of the residents had left the home since 7 May except for medical appointments. The infected employees living in the home had been allowed to leave only for essential purposes.
It is not yet clear how many staff members were living there.
Of the 225 residents and staff, 91 per cent were vaccinated in February and March, MSF said.
All of them have since undergone testing, with 23 of the 27 cases found to be asymptomatic.
The home has since stopped admitting and discharging residents, on top of putting a stop to all visits and carrying out full cleaning and disinfection of its premises.