Press Releases
Three More Cases Discharged; One New Case of COVID-19 Infection Confirmed
20 February 2020
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Three more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospital today (Cases 6, 16 and 66). In all, 37 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital.
2. As of 20 February 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified one more case of COVID-19 infection in Singapore. Contact tracing is underway to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to China.
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.
Four of the locally transmitted confirmed cases (Cases 31, 33, 38 and 83), as well as Cases 8 and 9, are linked to The Life Church and Missions Singapore (146B Paya Lebar Road).
Nine of the confirmed cases (Cases 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 28, 34 and 40) are linked to Yong Thai Hang (24 Cavan Road).
Three of the confirmed cases (Cases 30, 36 and 39) are linked to the private business meeting held at Grand Hyatt Singapore from 20 to 22 January.
Five of the confirmed cases (Cases 42, 47, 52, 56 and 69) are linked to the Seletar Aerospace Heights construction site.
22 of the confirmed cases (Cases 48, 49, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 73, 74, 78, 80, 81 and 84) are linked to the Grace Assembly of God.
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 toCases 13 and 26;
Case 72 is linked to Cases 59 and 79;
Case 50is linked to 55, 65 and 77; and
Case 75 is linked to Case 41.
5. Contact tracing is underway for the other nine locally transmitted cases to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to mainland China.
About the confirmed cases
Case 85
6. Case 85 is a 36 year-old male Chinese national who is a Singapore Work Pass holder, and has no recent travel history to China. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 20 February morning, and is currently warded in an isolation room at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
Case 83 (Announced on 19 February)
7. Case 83 is a 54 year-old male Singapore Citizen with no recent travel history to China, but who travels frequently to Malaysia for work purposes. He is currently warded in an isolation room at NCID.
8. He reported onset of symptoms on 28 January and had sought treatment at a general practitioner (GP) clinic on 1 February, 5 February, 6 February and 10 February. He went to NCID on 18 February, and subsequent test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on 19 February morning.
9. Prior to hospital admission, he had gone to work at Philemon Singapore Pte Ltd (16 Kallang Place). He stays at Rivervale Drive.
Case 84 (Announced on 19 February)
10. Case 84 is a 35 year-old female Singapore Citizen with no recent travel history to China. She is currently warded in an isolation room at NCID. She is linked to Case 66 [1].
11. She reported onset of symptoms on 4 February and had sought treatment at a GP clinic on 4 February and 5 February. As she had been identified as a contact of Case 66, she was referred to NCID on 18 February. Subsequent test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on 19 February morning.
12. Prior to hospital admission, she had gone to work at Lonza Biologics (35 Tuas South Avenue 6), and visited Bugis Junction. She stays at the Aljunied Road area.
Update on condition of confirmed cases
13. To date, a total of 37 cases have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital. Of the 48 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving. Four are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Update on contact tracing for confirmed cases
14. 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.
15. As of 20 February 2020, 12pm, MOH has identified 2,616 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 1,147 are currently quarantined, and 1,469 have completed their quarantine.
Health advisory
16. Singaporeans are advised to defer all travel to Hubei Province and all non-essential travel to Mainland China.
17. 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.
18. 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.
20. 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.
[1] Case 66 is a 28 year-old male Singapore Citizen with no recent travel history to China. He is linked to the cluster at Grace Assembly of God.