Coronavirus: Singapore conducts mass testing at air and sea ports after more unlinked cases; Laos records first death
- Four of the new cases tested preliminary positive for the B1617 variant, first identified in India and thought to be more transmissible
- A continued rise in such cases could upend the launch of the Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble, scheduled to begin on May 26
Singapore on Monday began a mass testing exercise involving 9,000 workers at Changi Airport and closed off a section of Terminal 3, shoring up its defences against an increase in unlinked Covid-19 cases, including some showing the B16172 variant first discovered in India.
A press release from the health ministry on Sunday showed there were 11 ongoing infection clusters being monitored by authorities. These include the airport cluster, where eight workers based in either Terminal 1 or Terminal 3 tested positive in recent days; a cluster that began last month at its port, where four additional workers test positive this month; and a cluster of 43 cases linked to the public Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
The health ministry added that four of the new cases on Sunday had tested preliminary positive for the B1617 variant, first identified in India and thought to be more transmissible, and two were staff at the airport.
Transport minister Ong Ye Kung, who will become the health minister later this week as part of a cabinet reshuffle, expressed concern about the growing port cluster.