A maid tested positive for Covid-19 causing an entire family of 12 to be put under quarantine. The employer was a hotel worker and reportedly hired her to take care of her elderly parents.
The domestic worker from Indonesia arrived in Singapore on 15 April then was discharged from stay-home notice (SHN) five days later. But despite being discharged, the maid is said to have tested positive for her polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
Maid Tests Positive For Covid-19 After Early Discharge From SHN
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The 32-year-old employer, Ms Lee, was worried about her maid’s early discharge. So she checked with the isolation facility where the maid was placed under quarantine. Here, she was reassured to not worry since the worker’s serology test came back positive. This indicated that it was only a past infection.
The helper arrived on 21 April at Ms Lee’s home, where she lives with her elderly parents and her brother.
But when the maid was retested, her results came back positive two weeks later on 4 May. She was then taken by an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
What To Do If Exposed To Covid: Employer’s Family Went Under Quarantine After Maid Tested Positive
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Ms Lee’s two sisters and their family of four who also came in contact with the maid decided to self-quarantine. They were in close contact with the maid when they came over for a family dinner.
This left Ms Lee and her family wondering what to expect or do if exposed to Covid. She told the media, “It was a shock, and it sent us all into confusion and panic because we didn’t know what would happen, whether we needed to be quarantined. Nobody told us anything.”
The following day, Ms Lee received an email informing her that the maid was a suspected positive Covid case. Despite this, she was told that she and her family could continue with their daily activities. The helper eventually tested negative for Covid-19 (twice in a row).
When the maid underwent another swab test on 8 May, the Ministry of Health (MOH) contacted Ms Lee. They informed her that all 12 of them had to go under quarantine.
As of today, they have finished their quarantine and cleared all their swab tests. Although, the status of the maid remains unclear.
More Maids Released Early From SHN Only To Test Positive Again
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The maid working for Ms Lee is one of the several maids who were released early from SHN then test positive again a few weeks later. According to The Straits Times, maids and confinement nannies coming into Singapore are required to do compulsory serology tests along with PCR tests since 5 February.
Those who have tested positive for antibodies in their serology test are classified as recovered patients. This means they can already be released from SHN.
Several maid agencies on the other hand have told ST that some maids were called back for swab tests over the past month. While a few of them tested positive for Covid-19, there were also some who were put in isolation.
The Manpower Ministry (MOM) said in a statement on 22 May, that they are now conducting an internal review of their communications and service delivery process. This is said to “better serve citizens and provide greater clarity on their concerns.”
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