Windsor Convalescent Home & Woodlands Care Home Among New Clusters At Nursing Homes
The next few weeks will once again be a crucial period in the Covid-19 pandemic as cases exceeded 1,000 for the 2nd straight day.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said there are 4 new large clusters under active monitoring in its Sunday (19 Sep) update.
They include 2 nursing homes in Pasir Panjang and Woodlands, as well as a pre-school in Yishun.
A market & food centre at Toa Payoh Lorong 8 is also among the new clusters, with 41 cases so far.
4 new clusters include nursing homes in Woodlands and Pasir Panjang
Among the new clusters are:
- Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Market and Food Centre – 41 cases
- Woodlands Care Home – 12 cases
- Windsor Convalescent Home – 10 cases
- My Little Campus (Yishun) – 11 cases
At Woodlands Care Home, Windsor Convalescent Home, and My Little Campus (Yishun), transmissions have occurred among residents and staff.
Both nursing homes record 1 staff infection so far, with the rest being residents.
Visits to nursing homes have already been suspended until 11 Oct, which should prevent any further transmissions to visitors or residents.
Visits To Residential Care Homes Suspended After 42 Covid-19 Cases Found Across 18 Facilities
16 large clusters
Each cluster will have been ringfenced through tracing, testing, and isolation.
There are some updates to existing clusters.
MOH said that the Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd cluster is limited to workplace transmissions, with all cases being staff so far. There is no evidence of spread beyond the worksite.
Other cluster updates include Chinatown Complex, which recorded 5 new cases on 19 Sep. The cases so far include:
- 198 stallholders and assistants
- 12 cleaners/Safe Distancing Ambassadors
- 64 household contacts of workers
All new cases have been quarantined.
Growing cases may strain ICU
Currently, there are 118 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation while 21 are in critical condition in the ICU.
Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said we cannot assume that ICU cases will remain low because the number of cases is still growing.
ICU Numbers May Grow Quickly Amid Covid-19 Surge, Lawrence Wong Warns Against Complacency
He noted that about 0.2% of infected cases are at risk of needing care in the ICU.
This amount may risk overloading our hospitals if overall cases continue to grow exponentially.
Therefore, it is a critical time.
Keep to safe distancing measures
Cases are growing and this does merit some caution.
At the same time, most cases will be mild or asymptomatic, which means if you’re younger and vaccinated, you can visit a GP clinic instead of the hospital.
This will help ease the load that A&E and general wards are facing at the moment.
Do ensure that you see a doctor if you feel unwell and make sure that you keep to all safe distancing measures. Limit your social gatherings to 1 a day as well for now.
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