14 more cases discharged; 42 new cases of COVID-19 infection confirmed

1. 14 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities (Cases 206, 314, 330, 346, 382, 426, 434, 502, 593, 601, 252, 269, 374 and 423). In all, 212 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged.

2. As of 29 March 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified an additional 42 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, of which 24 are imported and 18 are local cases who have no recent travel history abroad.

•   The 24 imported cases¹ had travel history to Europe, North America, Middle East, ASEAN and other parts of Asia.

•   Eight cases² are linked to previous cases.

•   10 cases³ are currently unlinked, and contact tracing is ongoing.

3. All Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and Long Term Pass holders returning to Singapore are issued a 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN). From 25 March, 2359 hours, UK and US returnees will serve their 14-day SHN in dedicated facilities. The SHN requirements will be strictly enforced so as to reduce the risk of community transmission from imported cases.  

Links between previous cases found

4. Further epidemiological investigations and contact tracing have uncovered links between previously announced and new cases. This was made possible with the assistance of the Singapore Police Force.

a) 47 of the confirmed cases (Cases 94, 96, 107, 112, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 122, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 137, 139, 140, 142, 144, 145, 146, 148, 149, 150, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 164, 166, 174, 179, 185, 186, 196, 201, 218 and 224) are linked to a private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong on 15 February. Two (Cases 142 and 144) are linked to boulder+ Gym and Church of Singapore (Bukit Timah).

      i. Six of the confirmed cases (Cases 142, 162, 163, 305, 345 and 443) are linked to boulder+ Gym (12 Kallang Avenue).

      ii. Five of the confirmed cases (Cases 144, 208, 214, 235 and 283) are linked to the Church of Singapore (Bukit Timah) (2B Hindhede Road).

b) Three of the confirmed cases (Cases 183, 252 and 310) are linked to Masjid Al-Muttaqin (5140 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6).

c) 26 of the confirmed cases⁴ are linked to a cluster at PCF Sparkletots Preschool @ Fengshan Blk 126 (126 Bedok North Street 2). 16 of the cases⁵ are staff at the preschool, and 10⁶ are family members of Case 601.

d) Eight of the confirmed cases (Cases 556, 618, 626, 662, 686, 713, 729 and 761) are linked to a cluster at Dover Court International School (301 Dover Road). Seven are staff at the school and Case 729 is a contact of Case 618.

e) Five of the confirmed cases (Cases 581, 689, 724, 740 and 796) are linked to a cluster at SingPost Centre (10 Eunos Road 8).

f) Three of the confirmed cases (Cases 745, 802 and 810) are linked to a new cluster at The Wedding Brocade (1 Yishun Industrial Street 1).

5. Contact tracing is underway for 71 locally transmitted cases to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to affected countries or regions.

6. Please refer to the Annex for a summary of the confirmed cases.

Cases from public healthcare sector

7. Case 741 (announced on 28 March) is a 42 year-old Singapore Permanent Resident who has no travel history to affected countries or regions. She reported onset of symptoms on 24 March, and subsequent test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on 27 March afternoon. She is currently warded in an isolation room at Sengkang General Hospital.

8. She is employed as a nurse at Sengkang General Hospital. Prior to hospital admission, she had gone to work. Contact tracing is ongoing.

Update on condition of confirmed cases

9. To date, a total of 212 cases have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities.

10. Of the 423 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving. 19 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. 206 cases who are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19 are isolated and cared for at Concord International Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital and the Community Isolation Facility at D’Resort NTUC. Three have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

Update on contact tracing for confirmed cases

11. Contact tracing for the confirmed cases is ongoing. Once identified, MOH will closely monitor all close contacts. As a precautionary measure, they will be quarantined for 14 days from their last exposure to the patient. In addition, all other identified contacts who have a low risk of being infected will be under active surveillance, and will be contacted daily to monitor their health status.

12. As of 29 March 2020, 12pm, MOH has identified 11,779 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 4,178 are currently quarantined, and 7,601 have completed their quarantine.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
29 MARCH 2020

[1] Cases 803, 804, 805, 806, 814, 815, 817, 819, 822, 825, 827, 828, 830, 831, 832, 833, 834, 835, 837, 838, 840, 841, 842 and 843.

[2] Cases 809, 810, 811, 816, 826, 829, 836 and 839.

[3] Cases 807, 808, 812, 813, 818, 820, 821, 823, 824, 829 and 844.

[4] Cases 516, 521, 566, 567, 572, 583, 584, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 609, 610, 612, 614, 617, 624, 638, 660, 705, 706, 707, 708, 716 and 746.

[5] Cases 516, 583, 584, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 609, 610, 612, 614, 617, 624, 660 and 716.

[6] Cases 521, 566, 567, 572, 638, 705, 706, 707, 708 and 746.