Selangor Journal
People who had visited a mall that became a Covid-19 cluster, queue up for their swab tests in Singapore, on May 20, 2021. — Picture by REUTERS

Singapore confirms 71 omicron cases as at Monday, suspected new cluster at gym

SINGAPORE, Dec 21— Singapore has reported 71 confirmed Omicron cases as at Monday (December 20), with 65 being imported cases and six local cases, according to the republic’s Ministry of Health (MOH).

A cluster of three Covid-19 cases linked to a fitness centre has also been detected on Monday, with two cases testing preliminarily positive for the variant and the result for the remaining case is pending.

“All three cases are fully vaccinated and have mild symptoms,” said the ministry in a statement issued late Monday.

MOH said it is ringfencing the cases through contact tracing.

The ministry said the three cases, involving persons aged between 18 and 24, had no recent travel history.

MOH said the epidemiological investigations found that they recently visited the fitness centre between December 15 and 17, 2021.

It noted that staff and visitors of the centre who were identified to be close contacts of the cases will be quarantined.

As a precautionary measure, other visitors to the gym between December 15 and 17 will be issued Health Risk Warnings (HRW).

“They will also be contacted by MOH for a one-time targeted polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test,” said the ministry.

MOH advised all visitors to the affected premises to monitor their health closely, and minimise social interactions as far as possible for 14 days from their date of visit.

“They are encouraged to see a doctor immediately if they feel unwell,” it said.

As at December 20, Singapore’s total Covid-19 caseload stood at 276,105 with 815 fatalities.

— Bernama

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