SINGAPORE: Twelve new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Singapore on Wednesday (Mar 11), including eight imported cases and one linked to the SAFRA Jurong cluster.
One is linked to an imported case while the remaining two cases are still unlinked, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a daily update.
The latest confirmed cases bring Singapore’s total to 178.
Among the new imported cases, three are Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) servicemen who had been stationed in France.
There are now 40 cases in the SAFRA Jurong cluster – the biggest COVID-19 cluster announced in Singapore since the outbreak began.
Three more patients have fully recovered and have been discharged from hospital as of Wednesday, said MOH.
Most of the 82 remaining in hospital are in stable condition or improving. Nine are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Explore our interactive: All the COVID-19 cases in Singapore and the clusters and links between them
NEW CASES
Cases 167 and 178
Case 178 is an imported case involving a 37-year-old male Filipino national who is a Singapore Work Pass holder.
He had been in the Philippines from 11 February to 19 February, and again from 23 February to 2 March to visit a relative with pneumonia who has since passed on. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 11 March morning, and is currently warded in an isolation room at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH).
He is a family member of Case 167.
Case 167 is a 35-year-old female Filipino national who is a Singapore Work Pass holder, and is a family member of Case 178. She had been in the Philippines from 11 February to 17 February. She is currently warded in an isolation room at NTFGH.
She reported onset of symptoms on 8 March and had sought treatment at NTFGH on 9 March. Subsequent test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on 10 March afternoon.
She is employed as a staff nurse at NTFGH and had been at work prior to hospital admission. She lives at Jurong East Street 21.
Case 168
Case 168 is a 47-year-old Singaporean man with no recent travel history to affected countries and regions.
He reported onset of symptoms on Mar 1 and sought treatment at two GP clinics on Mar 2, Mar 5 and Mar 8. He was referred to Sengkang Hospital (SKH) emergency department on Mar 8.
The case was diagnosed with the coronavirus on Mar 10 and is currently warded at SKH.
Prior to admission he mostly stayed at home at Rivervale Street.
Case 169
The case is a 40-year-old Singaporean RSAF serviceman.
He is a close contact of cases 165, 173 and 175, and is one of the imported cases who had been in France on official duty. He was in France from Feb 13 to Mar 7.
The man reported onset of symptoms on Mar 9 and went to the emergency department of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) on Mar 10. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 that afternoon. MOH said the man did not go to work upon returning to Singapore.
Prior to hospital admission, he had gone to the Health Promotion Board for an unrelated matter. He lives at Yishun Street 81.
Case 170
The case is a 56-year-old Indonesian woman, believed to be an imported case.
She reported onset of symptoms while in Indonesia on Mar 6. She arrived in Singapore on Mar 9 and went to the Singapore General Hospital. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Mar 10 afternoon.
She is a family member of case 152.
Case 171
Case 171 is a 27-year-old Singaporean man who is believed to be an imported case.
He was in France from Feb 25 to Mar 1 and Spain from Mar 1 to Mar 6.
He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
Case 172
The case is a 42-year-old Filipino national, who was in the Philippines from Feb 27 to Mar 2.
She was confirmed to have COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at NCID.
Case 173
Case 173 is 31 years old and is among the RSAF servicemen who had been in France on official duty. The other cases are 165, 169 and 175.
He was in France from Feb 15 to Mar 7, and did not go to work upon his return to Singapore.
He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at NCID.
Case 174
The case is a 67-year-old Singaporean woman with no recent travel history to the affected countries and regions.
She is linked to the SAFRA Jurong cluster involving a dinner function at Joy Garden Restaurant on Feb 15.
She was confirmed to have COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at NCID.
Case 175
The case is a 44-year-old Singaporean man, a RSAF servicemen who is a contact of cases 165, 169 and 173, who had all been in France on official duty.
The case was in France from Feb 15 to Mar 7. He did not go to work upon returning to Singapore.
He is warded at NCID.
Case 176
The case is a 37-year-old British national who was in Japan from Feb 24 to Mar 4 and the United Kingdom from Mar 4 to Mar 8.
She is an imported case.
She was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at NCID.
Case 177
The case is a 26-year-old Singaporean man, also said to be an imported case.
He was in the United States from Feb 14 to Feb 24, the UK from Feb 28 to Mar 1 and France from Mar 2 to Mar 7.
He was confirmed to have COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at NCID.
ADDITIONAL SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES BEING CONSIDERED
Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong on Tuesday said Singapore has to shift its approach towards containing COVID-19 within the country, as the virus spreads worldwide and border controls become less relevant and effective in the future.
READ: Singapore to shift approach, ‘double down’ on COVID-19 measures within country: Lawrence Wong
“We will look at the whole range of social distancing measures,” he said.
The Ministry of Health also announced a two-week suspension of senior-centric activities by government agencies.
These include activities held at community clubs (CCs), residents’ committees (RCs), senior activity centres, active aging hubs, CREST centres and ActiveSG sport centres.
READ: Senior-centric activities by government agencies to be suspended as part of additional COVID-19 measures: MOH
Measures for large-scale events may also be tightened and Mr Wong acknowledged that religious services may be affected if the attendee threshold is lowered to 500.
When asked if the upcoming March holidays will be affected, Mr Wong said there are no plans to extend school holidays, but he also did not rule out school closures in the future.
“If there are social distancing measures we put in place that will impact Singaporeans, we will provide lead time. So certainly, school closures is one thing that impacts many people. We will have to provide lead time. We can’t just do it overnight.”
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the novel coronavirus and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
