Coronavirus: fully vaccinated worker in Singapore tests positive for Covid-19; Japan begins inoculating elderly

Singapore authorities said the patient was an Indian worker who was staying at a dormitory in the south of the country

Elsewhere, India has overtaken Brazil to become the second-worst hit country by Covid-19, while Japan’s senior citizens will receive their shots from today

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A health worker in Melbourn prepares a dose of the Pfizer shot. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:00am, 12 Apr 2021Updated: 1:02pm, 13 Apr 2021

A fully vaccinated foreign worker in Singapore on Sunday tested positive for Covid-19, the only local case in the 20 total infections recorded on the same day.

The ministry of health said the patient was a 23-year-old Indian national who worked in the marine industry and was staying at a dormitory in the south of the country. His case was not linked to previous cases.

The worker had no symptoms, which the ministry said was likely due to him having received two Covid-19 vaccine doses, on January 25 and February 17.

He also had a positive serology test as he could have produced antibodies following the vaccination, the ministry added.

“This case is a reminder that it is possible for vaccinated individuals to get infected,” the health ministry said. “But the vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic disease for the vast majority of those vaccinated.”

Sunday’s tally brought the total number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore to 60,653. In all, 60,335 people have fully recovered from the infection.