Two more cases discharged; Five new cases of COVID-19 infection confirmed

               Two more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospital today (Case 71 and 98). In all, 81 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital.

2.             As of 5 March 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified five more cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore. Of these, one is an imported case, and the others are part of a cluster involving a private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong (333 Boon Lay Way) on 15 February.

Links between previous cases found

3.             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)        Six of the locally transmitted confirmed cases (Cases 31, 33, 38, 83, 90 and 91), as well as Cases 8 and 9, are linked to The Life Church and Missions Singapore. These six cases are linked to another 23 confirmed cases (Cases 48, 49, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 73, 74, 78, 80, 81, 84, 88) who are linked to the Grace Assembly of God.
b)        Nine of the confirmed cases (Cases 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 28, 34 and 40) are linked to Yong Thai Hang.
c)         Three of the confirmed cases (Cases 30, 36 and 39) are linked to the business meeting held at Grand Hyatt Singapore from 20 to 22 January.
d)        Five of the confirmed cases (Cases 42, 47, 52, 56 and 69) are linked to the Seletar Aerospace Heights construction site.
e)        14 of the confirmed cases (Cases 93, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 108 and 110) are linked to Wizlearn Technologies Pte Ltd.
f)          Eight of the confirmed cases (Cases 94, 96, 107, 112, 114, 115, 116 and 117) are linked to a private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong on 15 February.

4.             Investigations on these clusters are ongoing. In addition to the clusters, our investigations have identified the following links between cases:
·      Case 44 is linked to Cases 13 and 26;
·      Case 72 is linked to Cases 59 and 79;
·      Case 50 is linked to Cases 55, 65 and 77;
·      Case 75 is linked to Case 41; and
·      Case 86 is linked to Case 82.

5.             Contact tracing is underway for the other 12 locally transmitted cases to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to affected countries or regions.

About the confirmed cases

Case 113

6.             Case 113 is an imported case involving a 42 year-old male French national who is a Singapore Work Pass holder. He has no recent travel history to affected countries and regions but had been in France, Portugal and the UK between 8 February and 3 March. He is currently warded in an isolation room at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

7.             He reported onset of symptoms on 3 March during his flight on Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Singapore. He presented at NCID on 4 March. Subsequent test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on 4 March afternoon.

8.             Prior to hospital admission, he had visited Gleneagles Hospital for an unrelated matter. He stays in the Mount Sophia area.

Case 114

9.             Case 114 is a 62 year-old male Singapore Citizen who has no recent travel history to affected countries and regions. He is warded in an isolation room at the National University Hospital (NUH). He is a family member of Case 115, and is linked to the cluster involving a private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong.

10.          He reported onset of symptoms on 28 February and had sought treatment at a general practitioner (GP) clinic on 29 February. He presented at the emergency department at NUH on 3 March. Subsequent test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on 4 March afternoon.

11.          Prior to hospital admission, he had mostly stayed at his home in the Westwood Avenue area.

Case 115

12.          Case 115 is a 62 year-old female Singapore Citizen who has no recent travel history to affected countries and regions. She was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 5 March morning and is currently warded in an isolation room at NUH. She is a family member of Case 114, and is linked to the cluster involving a private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong.

Case 116

13.          Case 116 is a 50 year-old female Singapore Citizen who has no recent travel history to affected countries and regions. She was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 5 March morning and is currently warded in an isolation room at NCID. She is linked to the cluster involving a private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong.

Case 117

14.          Case 117 is a 52 year-old female Singapore Citizen who has no recent travel history to affected countries and regions but had been in Malaysia on 1 March. She was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 5 March morning and is currently warded in an isolation room at NCID. She is linked to the cluster involving a private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong.

Case 112 (Announced on 4 March)

15.          Case 112 is a 62 year-old female Singapore Citizen who has no recent travel history to affected countries and regions. She is warded in an isolation room at NCID. She is linked to the cluster involving a private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong.

16.          She reported onset of symptoms on 21 February and had sought treatment at Bukit Batok Polycinic on the same day and on 25 February, as well as three GP clinics on 21 February, 23 February, 27 Febuary and 1 March. As she had been identified as a contact of Case 94, she was referred by MOH to NCID on 3 March and was isolated. Subsequent test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on 4 March morning.

17.          She had gone to work on 21 February at Creative O Preschoolers’ Bay (31 International Business Park) where she is a non-teaching staff. She had left the centre a few hours into her shift, and has not been back since.

Update on condition of confirmed cases

18.          To date, a total of 81 cases have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital. Of the 36 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving. Seven are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Update on contact tracing for confirmed cases

19.          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.

20.          As of 5 March 2020, 12pm, MOH has identified 3,291 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 381 are currently quarantined, and 2,910 have completed their quarantine.

Health advisory

21.          Singaporeans are advised to defer all travel to Hubei Province and all non-essential travel to mainland China, Iran, northern Italy, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

22.          All travellers should monitor their health closely for two weeks upon return to Singapore and seek medical attention promptly if they feel unwell. Travellers should inform their doctor of their travel history. If they have a fever or respiratory symptoms (e.g. cough, shortness of breath), they should wear a mask and call the clinic ahead of the visit.

23.          Travellers and members of the public should adopt the following precautions at all times:
·      Avoid close contact with people who are unwell or showing symptoms of illness;
·      Observe good personal hygiene;
·      Practise frequent hand washing with soap (e.g. before handling food or eating, after going to toilet, or when hands are dirtied by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing);
·      Wear a mask if you have respiratory symptoms such as a cough or shortness of breath;
·      Cover your mouth with a tissue paper when coughing or sneezing, and dispose the soiled tissue paper in the rubbish bin immediately; and
·      Seek medical attention promptly if you are feeling unwell.

24.          MOH will continue to monitor the situation closely. As medical practitioners are on the lookout for suspect cases, Singapore is likely to see more cases that will need to be investigated.