MOH investigating 13 Covid-19 infections among people who served stay-home notices at Mandarin Orchard hotel

[Carbon82]

Honestly, I think these staycation and cruise to nowhere are putting people to unnecessary risk of infection, from a health and safety point of view. I know of companies that are considering issuing SHN to those returning from cruise and staycation as an added precaution. I wouldn't say that is unreasonable... 

MOH investigating 13 Covid-19 infections among people who served stay-home notices at Mandarin Orchard hotel

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (Dec 19) that it is investigating 13 cases of Covid-19 infection among individuals who had served stay-home notice (SHN) at Mandarin Orchard Singapore hotel, which will stop accepting new guests with immediate effect. In a press statement, MOH advised guests who have stayed at the hotel between Nov 11 and Dec 19 to monitor their health closely for 14 days from their last date of stay.

“They should see a doctor promptly if they develop symptoms of acute respiratory infection (such as cough, sore throat and runny nose), as well as fever and loss of taste or smell, and inform the doctor of their exposure history,” said MOH.

It added that persons on SHN are housed in a dedicated tower and floors at the hotel, segregated from all other guests, with no interaction amongst them.

“However as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all guests in the hotel, the hotel will check out all its occupants. Persons serving SHN will be transported via dedicated vehicles to an alternative SHN dedicated facility.

"Deep cleaning and disinfection will be carried out by the hotel, in consultation with MOH and the National Environment Agency.”

The hotel has made arrangements to check out existing guests progressively. Restaurant and event spaces within the hotel will also be closed.

MOH said that as part of routine laboratory surveillance, the National Public Health Laboratory conducts whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis on all Covid-19 cases.

It takes about four weeks to culture the virus and complete the genome sequencing.

Thirteen imported cases, who were confirmed between Nov 2 and 11 to have Covid-19 infection, were observed to have high genetic similarity despite the cases having arrived from different countries, including Bahrain, Canada, Indonesia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Philippines, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“This suggests that these cases were likely infected from a similar source," said MOH."

Further investigations by MOH found that these 13 cases had served SHN at Mandarin Orchard Singapore between Oct 22 and Nov 11. Genome sequencing and analysis are continuing for cases beyond Nov 11.”

The ministry said that epidemiological investigations were immediately initiated to determine if there is a potential link between these 13 cases and if transmission could have occurred locally, and not from their country of origin.

“From MOH’s preliminary investigations, we cannot exclude that transmissions could have occurred at Mandarin Orchard Singapore.

”The ministry has started special testing operations to test around 500 staff of the hotel for Covid-19 infection. These include the staff serving those on SHN as well as those who serve other guests in other parts of the hotel.

“We will also test all who are currently serving SHN at Mandarin Orchard Singapore for Covid-19 infection to determine their status, instead of waiting till their SHN exit swab.

”MOH said that hotels used as SHN dedicated facilities must have in place strict protocols to segregate persons on SHN from all other guests.

These include placing persons on SHN in segregated blocks, wings or floors, and ensuring their route of movement is clearly demarcated from other guests.

Persons on SHN are also not allowed to leave their rooms during their stay, and rooms are thoroughly disinfected and sanitised upon completion of SHN according to strict infection control measures.

“They will also not be allowed access to common facilities in the hotels. The Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Police Force conduct regular checks on these hotels to ensure that safe management measures are complied with, and that security measures are in place,” said MOH.

“The Government takes a serious view of any breach in protocols and will investigate and take actions should there be non-compliance.”

[Soya]

Many in the tourism sector hv lost their jobs. It cannot remain in deep freeze. It's a calculated and manageable risk imho

 

[Carbon82]

One thing which really puzzled me: How can the authorities allow Mandarin Hotel to open its door to the public while being a dedicated site for those serving SHN?

Unlike hospitals, whereby they have independent facilities setup (e.g. aircon and ventilation system) as well as separate staffs / team to minimise cross contamination, I doubt hotels can achieve the same level of segregation in their daily operations. So WHY?! 

Also, were the hotel guest informed when they book a staycation there? Correct me if I am wrong, unlike quarantine order (QO), people serving SHN are allowed to leave their rooms and move around the premises (within designated zones), adding to the risk of cross infection between those serving SHN and even normal hotel guest.

I hope MOH and the COVID-19 task force can relook into having SHN in-lieu of QO. Back in 2003 during the SARS outbreak, all incoming visitors from high risk areas were place under QO, whereby the person was confined within a room of their own. Given that COVID-19 is more infectious than SARS, shouldn’t we do more to control the spread?? 

[Sdf4786k]

Sounds like asymptomatic host present .. 

let’s hope ph3 can still happen 

[Staff69]

you don't see any of the ministars doing staycation😂😂

[inlinesix]

17 minutes ago, Carbon82 said:

One thing which really puzzled me: How can the authorities allow Mandarin Hotel to open its door to the public while being a dedicated site for those serving SHN?

Unlike hospitals, whereby they have independent facilities setup (e.g. aircon and ventilation system) as well as separate staffs / team to minimise cross contamination, I doubt hotels can achieve the same level of segregation in their daily operations. So WHY?! 

Also, were the hotel guest informed when they book a staycation there? Correct me if I am wrong, unlike quarantine order (QO), people serving SHN are allowed to leave their rooms and move around the premises (within designated zones), adding to the risk of cross infection between those serving SHN and even normal hotel guest.

I hope MOH and the COVID-19 task force can relook into having SHN in-lieu of QO. Back in 2003 during the SARS outbreak, all incoming visitors from high risk areas were place under QO, whereby the person was confined within a room of their own. Given that COVID-19 is more infectious than SARS, shouldn’t we do more to control the spread?? 

My understanding is that people serving SHN are not allowed to leave their rooms.

They have to stay within the confine of their room.

 

[Philipkee]

21 minutes ago, inlinesix said:

My understanding is that people serving SHN are not allowed to leave their rooms.

They have to stay within the confine of their room.

 

People are worried.  Is there centralised aircon? Or individual aircons only.  Cos the virus could spread via aircon  system.

[inlinesix]

Just now, Philipkee said:

People are worried.  Is there centralised aircon? Or individual aircons only.  Cos the virus could spread via aircon  system.

Except for isolation room in NCID, even hospitals is running on centralised aircon. Right?

[Yewheng]

6 minutes ago, inlinesix said:

Except for isolation room in NCID, even hospitals is running on centralised aircon. Right?

Hmm.. Maybe for future planning purpose.. For future commercial building, hotels to have 2 centralised aircon? Don't know is it feasible or is it too expensive option for that. Maybe having 2 centralised aircon = lower PU = cheaper and then x 2 unit = slightly more expensive then 1 centralised unit? 

Edited December 20, 2020 by Yewheng

[Philipkee]

6 minutes ago, inlinesix said:

Except for isolation room in NCID, even hospitals is running on centralised aircon. Right?

All hospitals have isolation wards/ rooms as well.  

If they put quarantine/suspected patients in general rooms then I have nothing to say.  

[Weez911]

Need to find out the root cause of how the virus originated from the hotel. Once all the staff is tested, they should have a rough idea. I go to the retail side of Mandarin quite often, hopefully it is not from there though. 

I have avoided staycation although the wife is keen. Reason being the toilet, curtain, tables, chairs, cabinets, walls and other touch points could not possibly be 100% disinfected after the previous occupants left. Those occupants/incoming travellers might be infected and could be coughing all over the place. Also, the air-conditioning could be a cause of spread too. Same with common areas such as hotel lifts, and maybe the staff could be infected.

I prefer not taking that risk. 

My family and my life are more important. 

Edited December 20, 2020 by Weez911

[inlinesix]

13 minutes ago, Yewheng said:

Hmm.. Maybe for future planning purpose.. For future commercial building, hotels to have 2 centralised aircon? Don't know is it feasible or is it too expensive option for that. Maybe having 2 centralised aircon = lower PU = cheaper and then x 2 unit = slightly more expensive then 1 centralised unit? 

Hospital, yes.

Otherwise, pointless.

[Volvobrick]

1 hour ago, Staff69 said:

you don't see any of the ministars doing staycation😂😂

Live in GCB it's staycation everyday, not need to go hotel and risk catching all sorts of viruses. 

[Weez911]

4 minutes ago, Volvobrick said:

Live in GCB it's staycation everyday, not need to go hotel and risk catching all sorts of viruses. 

But when it comes to vaccine, they will be the first one to pump. To look good, they will say they have to take the lead to show Singaporeans the vaccine is safe to use.

Yeah right. Like I have to be in diapers to believe that crap.

[Volvobrick]

2 minutes ago, Weez911 said:

But when it comes to vaccine, they will be the first one to pump. To look good, they will say they have to take the lead to show Singaporeans the vaccine is safe to use.

Yeah right. Like I have to be in diapers to believe that crap.

If vaccine is unproven, they will say they don't want to jump queue.... 

[Sdf4786k]

1 hour ago, Staff69 said:

you don't see any of the ministars doing staycation😂😂

There’s a reason for these.. have u seem their homes? Other then the Yishun Istana, there’s seem like a picture from the rich and famous 

[noobcarbuyer]

53 minutes ago, Weez911 said:

Need to find out the root cause of how the virus originated from the hotel. Once all the staff is tested, they should have a rough idea. I go to the retail side of Mandarin quite often, hopefully it is not from there though. 

I have avoided staycation although the wife is keen. Reason being the toilet, curtain, tables, chairs, cabinets, walls and other touch points could not possibly be 100% disinfected after the previous occupants left. Those occupants/incoming travellers might be infected and could be coughing all over the place. Also, the air-conditioning could be a cause of spread too. Same with common areas such as hotel lifts, and maybe the staff could be infected.

I prefer not taking that risk. 

My family and my life are more important. 

Not just the previous occupants.

Another potential cause of transmission would be the chambermaid or cleaning staff as they go from room to room using the same cleaning equipment. 

Ventilation system / sewage system between rooms could also be possible candidates. 

[Adrianli]

1 hour ago, Philipkee said:

All hospitals have isolation wards/ rooms as well.  

If they put quarantine/suspected patients in general rooms then I have nothing to say.  

This is something that bothers me within the healthcare sector where I was attached to. Suspected patients are pretty much isolated and escorted within the healthcare institutions. But after the x-ray or swap test are done, these suspected patients have to make their own way home. Thus possible spreading to the community while waiting for the result.

Within the healthcare institutions compound these suspected patients were ID and isolated. But allowed to leave and wait for result. Doesn’t make any sense to me. But I am just a small fly, these are just my humble observations. Therefore I am extra precaution whenever I am making my way around. You will never know if you had bumped into a suspected patient.