Changi Airport terminals, Jewel to be closed to public for two weeks from May 13 as staff undergo Covid-19 tests
SINGAPORE – All Changi Airport passenger terminal buildings and Jewel Changi Airport will be closed for two weeks to the public from Thursday (May 13).
While some staff and travellers can still access the terminal buildings, Jewel will be completely closed.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) said the move will take place while Covid-19 tests of workers are ongoing at the airport.
Given the evolving nature of Covid-19, the authorities will continue to review and adjust the measures as necessary. This includes extending the closure if required.
CAAS and CAG said: “Changi Airport remains open for air travel during this period. Passengers may also continue to be dropped off and picked up from the airport.
“Access to the passenger terminal buildings will be restricted to only passengers with air tickets and essential airport workers. Some essential services and food and beverage outlets will remain open to serve them.”
The closures come as the number of Covid-19 cases linked to the airport continues to grow. Seven of the community cases announced on Wednesday are linked to the Changi Airport cluster, taking the total number of cases in the cluster to 25.
Airport workers and staff working in Jewel are urged to refrain from going out except for essential work or activities in the next 14 days, until they have tested negative for Covid-19.
They should also not be redeployed to other workplaces or outlets during this period.
The airport Covid-19 cluster is now the second-largest active cluster, after the one at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). It emerged after an 88-year-old cleaner deployed at Terminal 3 tested positive for Covid-19 on May 5.
Six in the cluster have tested preliminarily positive for the B1617 variant, and are pending further confirmatory tests.
Changi Airport had begun a special testing operation on May 9 to test 9,000 workers in order to root out any hidden Covid-19 cases among airport workers.
Its main cleaning contractor for Changi Airport Terminal 3, Ramky Cleantech Services, was placed on a safety time-out for 14 days since Monday (May 10), after Covid-19 cases were detected recently among its cleaners.
The airport had also closed Basement 2 at Terminal 3 to the public since May 10, pending the Ministry of Health’s investigations.
It said the area was of particular concern as several of the Covid-19 cases had visited outlets there.
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