Eight more cases discharged; 54 new cases of COVID-19 infection confirmed

          Eight more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospital (Cases 115, 170, 178, 185, 211, 235, 260 and 291). In all, 152 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital.
 
2.            As of 23 March 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified an additional 48 imported and six local cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore.

          ·         The 48 imported cases¹ had travel history to Europe, North America and ASEAN. All except one were returning residents and Long Term Pass holders.
          ·         Six cases² 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). Persons under SHN must remain in their place of residence at all times.

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).

5.            Contact tracing is underway for 31 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.

 
Update on condition of confirmed cases

7.            To date, a total of 152 cases have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital. Of the 355 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving. 15 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. Two have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

 
Update on contact tracing for confirmed cases

8.            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.

9.            As of 23 March 2020, 12pm, MOH has identified 8,351 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 2,529 are currently quarantined, and 5,822 have completed their quarantine.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
23 MARCH 2020

¹ Cases 456, 458, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 481, 482, 483, 484, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499, 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508 and 509.
² Cases 457, 459, 477, 478, 479 and 480.