12 more cases discharged, 52 new cases of COVID-19 infection confirmed

       Twelve more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospital (Cases 139, 157, 192, 197, 223, 232, 237, 243, 278, 353, 377 and 504). In all, 172 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital.

2.     As of 26 March 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified an additional 52 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, of which 28 are imported and 24 are local cases.

•     The 28 imported cases ^[1] had travel history to Europe, North America, Middle East, ASEAN and other parts of Asia. All except two were returning residents and Long Term Pass holders.

•     10 cases ^[2] are linked to clusters or previous cases.

•     14 cases ^[3] 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) 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.

           b) 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).

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

           d) 20 of the confirmed cases (Cases 516, 521, 566, 567, 572, 583, 584, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 609, 610, 612, 614, 617, 624 and 660) are linked to a new cluster at PCF Sparkletots Preschool @ Fengshan Blk 126 (126 Bedok North Street 2). 15 of the cases are staff at the preschool, and five (Cases 521, 566, 567, 572 and 638) are family members of Case 601.

           e) Four of the confirmed cases (Cases 556, 618, 626 and 662) are linked to a new cluster at Dover Court International School (301 Dover Road). All four are staff at the school.

5.     Contact tracing is underway for 42 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.

Case 666

7.     Case 666 is a 32 year-old female Singapore Citizen 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 26 March morning. She is currently warded in an isolation room at Singapore General Hospital.

8.     She is employed as an Associate Consultant at the National Skin Centre. 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 172 cases have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital. Of the 422 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving. 18 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. 87 cases who are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19 have been transferred to Concord International Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital and the Community Isolation Facility at D’Resort NTUC for isolation and care. Two have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

Update on contact tracing for confirmed cases

10.     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.

11.     As of 26 March 2020, 12pm, MOH has identified 9,771 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 3,216 are currently quarantined, and 6,555 have completed their quarantine.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH

^[1] Cases 633, 634, 635, 636, 639, 640, 641, 642, 646, 647, 648, 649, 650, 651, 653, 654, 656, 663, 664, 665, 667, 669, 671, 672, 673, 674, 680 and 683.

^[2] Cases 632, 638, 644, 645, 660, 662, 675, 676, 668 and 681.

^[3] Cases 637, 643, 652, 655, 657, 658, 659, 661, 666, 670, 677, 678, 679 and 682.