Seven More Cases Discharged, 32 New Cases of COVID-19 Infection Confirmed

19 March 2020

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Seven more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospital (Cases 97, 104, 105, 121, 125, 134 and 136). In all, 124 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital.

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

·         The 24 imported cases (Cases 315, 316, 317,319, 320, 322, 323, 324,325,326,327, 328, 329, 331, 332, 333, 334, 337, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343 and 344) had travel history to Europe, North America and ASEAN. All were returning residents and long-term pass holders;
·         One (Case 345) is linked to the cluster at boulder+ Gym;
·         One is linked to previous cases (Case 335 is linked to Cases 234 and 311); and
·         Six are currently unlinked (Cases 314, 318, 321, 330, 336 and 338).

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) Eight of the locally transmitted confirmed cases (Cases 31, 33, 38, 83, 90, 91, 138 and 151), as well as Cases 8 and 9, are linked to The Life Church and Missions Singapore. These 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) 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.

c) 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. Five of the confirmed cases (Cases 142, 162, 163, 305 and 345) 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).

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

4. Investigations on these clusters are ongoing. In addition to the clusters, our investigations have identified the following links between cases:

·         Case 72 is linked to Cases 59 and 79;
·         Case 86 is linked to Case 82;
·         Case 126 is linked to Case 109;
·         Case 143 is linked to Case 132;
·         Case 167 is linked to Case 178;
·         Case 190 is linked to Cases 172 and 184;
·         Case 200 is linked to Case 165;
·         Case 219 is linked to Cases 142, 211 and 236;
·         Case 221 is linked to Case 204;
·         Case 237 is linked to Case 225;
·         Case 242 is linked to Case 166;
·         Case 251 is linked to Case 186;
·         Case 256 is linked to Case 205;
·         Case 294 is linked to Cases 225 and 237;
·         Case 287 is linked to Case 267;
·         Case 289 is linked to Case 212;
·         Case 291 is linked to Case 260;
·         Case 303 is linked to Case 248; and
·         Case 335 is linked to Case 234 and 311.

5. Contact tracing is underway for the other 23 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 124 cases have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital. Of the 221 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving. 15 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

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 19 March 2020, 12pm, MOH has identified 6,574 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 2,273 are currently quarantined, and 4,301 have completed their quarantine.

Health advisory

10. Singaporeans are advised to defer all travel abroad.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
19 MARCH 2020