Earlier this month, 2 clusters with links to Bishan and Sengkang bus interchanges emerged.
Though the situation with both clusters seems to have come under control, the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 2 new clusters at the Toa Payoh and Punggol bus interchanges on Thursday (26 Aug).
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Staff at both interchanges will be swabbed for Covid-19 while close contacts will be quarantined.
According to MOH’s evening update, the clusters at both interchanges reported 7 new cases each on Thursday (26 Aug).
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With the addition of the new cases, the Toa Payoh Bus Interchange cluster has 25 cases while the transport hub in Punggol has 11 cases.
All the cases linked to the Toa Payoh Bus Interchange cluster involve staff working at the interchange.
On the other hand, the 11 cases linked to Punggol Bus Interchange comprise 10 staff members and a household contact of one of the employees.
While MOH investigates both clusters, all staff members at both interchanges will have to undergo Covid-19 swab tests.
Those identified as close contacts of the infected individuals will be placed on quarantine.
Apart from the 2 interchange clusters, a new cluster was also declared at a coffee shop at 257 Bangkit Road.
Singapore currently has 68 active clusters, after factoring in the new ones as well as those that have closed.
Though the emergence of the new clusters might prove concerning, there were also positive news in MOH’s update on 26 Aug.
For one, the number of Covid-19 patients in ICU and others who require oxygen supplementation continues to trend downwards.
As of Thursday (26 Aug), 24 patients require such intensive care, the lowest number over the past month.
Having a closer look, the decrease can be attributed to a dip in cases that require oxygen treatment. The number of Covid-19 patients in ICU has remained at 7 since 20 Aug.
Singapore has also broken its 5-day streak during which there were Covid-related deaths reported every day.
Having to report physically to work, frontliners like bus captains are no doubt at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus.
Perhaps this could explain the recent emergence of clusters linked to these large transport hubs.
Nonetheless, we hope the authorities will be able to ringfence the clusters through testing and contact tracing.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and Google Maps.
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