The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday (15 July) that two more lounges at Parklane Shopping Mall in Selegie will be closed from 16 July to 30 July as investigations found that there is likely ongoing COVID-19 transmission there.
In a statement, MOH noted that the lounges — Las Vegas KTV and Tuberose KTV at 35 Selegie Road — will be closed to “break any potential chain of transmission and enable deep cleaning”.
MOH will extend free COVID-19 testing to those who had visited the aforementioned premises between 29 June and 15 July, or similar KTV lounges and clubs operating as food and beverage (F&B) outlets.
The free COVID-19 testing is also open to individuals who have interacted with social hostesses of any nationality in any setting between 29 June and 15 July.
Members of the public may visit this link for more details on the testing operations.
MOH reported 42 new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection yesterday, of which 34 belong to the KTV cluster, bringing the KTV cluster to a total of 88 cases now.
Of the 42 cases, 17 are linked to previous cases and have already been placed on quarantine. 21 are linked to previous cases and were detected through surveillance. Four cases are currently unlinked.
MOH added that six new imported cases had been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. Four were detected upon arrival in Singapore, while two developed the illness during SHN or isolation.
In total, Singapore recorded 48 new coronavirus cases as of Thursday noon, bringing the total number of infection cases to 62,852.
MOH investigating COVID-19 cases at ComfortDelGro Driving Centre
The Ministry is also investigating cases of COVID-19 infection amongst individuals who work in or visited ComfortDelGro Driving Centre at 205 Ubi Avenue 4.
There are six cases linked to the cluster so far.
“To break the chain of transmission and enable deep cleaning of the premises, ComfortDelGro Driving Centre has been closed to all members of the public from 15 July to 29 July 2021,” said MOH.
The Ministry noted that special testing operations will be conducted for all staff of ComfortDelGro Driving Centre.
Members of the public who had visited the premise between 6 July to 15 July are also encouraged by MOH to come forward for a free swab test.
Netizens urge Govt to suspend/revoke licenses of KTV lounges
Penning their thoughts under the comments section of The Straits Times’ Facebook post on the matter, many netizens expressed their disappointment with the emerging COVID-19 clusters.
They also urged the Government to revoke or suspend the licenses of KTV lounges that have breached the safety management measures.
One netizen wrote: “WE ARE DISAPPOINTED AND ANGRY! The KTV cluster is 70% the govt’s fault due to oversight and lack of enforcement. Why gave F&B licence to KTVs? So that KTV bosses can survive during Covid?”
