Third case in Singapore tests preliminarily positive for Omicron
The man's pre-departure Covid test was negative, as were two PCR tests taken upon arrival in the city-state.
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Another imported Covid-19 case in Singapore has tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant.
The patient is currently recovering in an isolation ward at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), said the republic’s health ministry in its daily update on Covid-19 last night.
It said the patient, Case 273611, was a 37-year-old male Singapore permanent resident who arrived from South Africa on Singapore Airlines flight SQ479 on Dec 1.
“He is fully vaccinated, and has mild symptoms of fever and sore throat. He has not interacted with the community, and there is currently no evidence of any community transmission from the case,” it said.
The man’s pre-departure Covid-19 test in Johannesburg on Nov 29 was negative. Upon arrival in Singapore, he was isolated at a stay-home notice (SHN) dedicated facility, and his PCR tests on Dec 1 and 3 came back negative.
On Dec 4, he developed a fever and sore throat and was taken to the NCID, where he tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant.
“The National Public Health Laboratory is conducting whole genome sequencing to confirm the variant,” said the ministry.
It noted that he had been on the same flight as two earlier Omicron cases, Cases 271487 and 271958, which were the first such infections detected in Singapore.
Singapore on Dec 2 reported the two imported Covid-19 cases testing preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant with confirmatory test results pending.
The 18 other passengers on the flight tested negative for Covid-19 and have been isolated at designated SHN facilities.
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