Five More Cases Discharged One New Case of COVID-19 Infection Confirmed

              Five more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospital today (Cases 58, 62, 77, 81 and 91). In all, 58 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital.

2.             As of 25 February 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified one more case of COVID-19 infection in Singapore which is linked to a previous case.

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 (146B Paya Lebar Road).

b)        These six cases are now 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.

c)         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).

d)        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.

e)        Five of the confirmed cases (Cases 42, 47, 52, 56 and 69) are linked to the Seletar Aerospace Heights construction site.

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 nine locally transmitted cases to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to mainland China.

About the confirmed cases

Case 91

6.              Case 91 is a 58 year-old female Singapore Citizen who has no recent travel history to China. She is linked to Case 66 [1].

7.             She reported onset of symptoms on 23 January and had sought treatment at a general practitioner (GP) clinic on 1 February, 6 February and 10 February. As she had been identified as a contact of Case 66, she was referred by MOH to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on 18 February. Subsequent test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on 22 February afternoon.

8.             Prior to hospital admission, she had mostly stayed at her home at Rivervale Drive.

Update on condition of confirmed cases

9.             To date, a total of 58 cases have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital. Of the 33 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

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 25 February 2020, 12pm, MOH has identified 2,846 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 371 are currently quarantined, and 2,475 have completed their quarantine.

Health advisory

12.          Singaporeans are advised to defer all travel to Hubei Province and all non-essential travel to Mainland China, and Daegu city and Cheongdo county in the Republic of Korea. MOH also reminds the public to continue to exercise caution when travelling to the rest of the Republic of Korea.

13.          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.

14.          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.

15.          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 who was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 14 February.