Three new Omicron cases detected on Dec 15; two cases dined at four restaurants in Orchard over two days

Three more COVID-19 cases have tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant, said MOH on Dec 15.

One is a local case. The other two are an imported case and a close contact.

The imported case and close contact had dined at four restaurants over two days in December – Mizuki at Ngee Ann City, Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant at Sheraton Towers Singapore and Merci Marcel at Palais Renaissance on Dec 8, and Signs A Taste Of Vietnam Pho at Orchard Gateway on Dec 9.

“All customer-facing restaurant staff, as well as patrons with SafeEntry check-in/out timings that coincided with the time that the cases were at the restaurants, will be issued health risk warnings by MOH,” the ministry said.

“A one-time targeted PCR testing operation will also be conducted for these individuals, whom MOH will contact.

“All visitors to the affected premises are advised to monitor their health closely, and minimise social interactions as far as possible, for 14 days from their date of visit or interaction. They are encouraged to see a doctor immediately if they feel unwell.”

The imported case is a 36-year-old man who travelled to Singapore via the vaccinated travel lane with the United States. He tested negative on Dec 6 in the US for his pre-departure test, as well as his PCR test on arrival in Singapore on Dec 8.

He tested positive for his supervised ART on Dec 10, and his PCR test result came back positive on Dec 11.

The close contact was his 34-year-old wife who had no recent travel history. She was placed on quarantine on Dec 14 as she was a close contact, and tested positive for COVID-19 on the same day. She had been working from home prior to that, said MOH.

The local case is a 54-year-old man who works as a loading cabin assistant at Changi Airport Terminal 3. He had no contact with flight passengers. He tested positive on Dec 14 as part of rostered routine testing. Between Dec 10 and Dec 13, his ART results came back negative.

“All three cases are fully vaccinated and have mild or no symptoms, and are recovering in isolation wards at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID),” MOH said.

“MOH is ringfencing the cases through contact tracing.”

There were 474 new COVID-19 cases reported in Singapore on Wednesday (Dec 15). Of the new infections, 442 were from the community and 187 of those infected were aged between 12 and 39.

To date, Singapore has reported 16 confirmed Omicron variant COVID-19 cases: 14 imported cases and two local cases who are airport passenger service staff.

Three deaths related to COVID-19 were reported on Dec 15. The national death toll now stands at 807.

There were 636 cases discharged from the hospital over the past day. Currently, 517 cases remain warded in hospitals, with 68 cases requiring oxygen supplementation. There are 32 cases that remain in the Intensive Care Unit, including 28 who are critically ill.

In the last 28 days, 29,449 cases have been recorded, of which 98.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms and 0.9 per cent have required oxygen supplementation.

As of Dec 14, 96 per cent of the eligible population, 87 per cent of total population, are fully vaccinated, 87 per cent have received at least one dose and 31 per cent have received boosters.