SINGAPORE: Three new COVID-19 patients were reported in Singapore on Thursday (Feb 27), the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a daily update, including a 12-year-old Singaporean student from Raffles Institution.
This brings the total number of cases in the country to 96.
MOH also said that four more patients – Cases 18, 72, 78 and 80 – were discharged on Thursday. They include a Chinese woman from Wuhan, the final imported case to recover from the infection, as well as a National University Hospital (NUH) employee.
In all, 66 cases have fully recovered from the infection.
Thirty COVID-19 patients remain in hospital, with eight in critical condition.
NEW CASES
Cases 94 and 95 are both Singapore citizens with no travel history to China or South Korea’s Daegu and Cheongdo.
Case 94, a 64-year-old woman, developed symptoms on the morning on Feb 11.
She sought treatment at a general practitioner’s clinic on Feb 17, Feb 20 and again on Feb 24, when she was referred to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and immediately isolated.
She was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Wednesday.
The woman lives in the Jalan Jurong Kechil area.
Case 95 is a 44-year-old Singaporean man who is linked to Case 93, a 38-year-old Singaporean man currently isolated at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Thursday morning is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. He has no recent travel history to China, Daegu and Cheongdo.
Case 96 is a 12-year-old Singaporean student at Raffles Institution who is a family member of Case 94.
He became unwell on Feb 21 and was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on Feb 27. He is currently warded in an isolation room at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Thursday that the Year 1 student at Raffles Institution has not been in school since Feb 21.
He had attended a language class on Feb 20 at the MOE Language Centre in Bishan.
Raffles Institution and the language centre will suspend classes on Friday for thorough cleaning and disinfecting, said MOE. Classes will resume on Monday.
Additionally, co-curricular activities (CCAs) for Year 1 to Year 6 in Raffles Institution will be suspended for two weeks.
Students, teachers and staff who had recent contact with the boy at both Raffles Institution and the MOE Language Centre (Bishan) will be issued 14-day Leave of Absence, said MOE.
UPDATE ON CASES 92 AND 93
MOH provided an update on Cases 92 and 93 on Thursday. The 47 year-old Singaporean man, who has no recent travel history to China, Daegu and Cheongdo, lives at Serangoon Avenue 3.
He reported onset of symptoms on Feb 17 and sought treatment at a general practitioner’s clinic on Feb 21 and 24.
He went to Sengkang General Hospital (SKGH) on Feb 24 and was immediately isolated.
Test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on the morning of Feb 26.
MOH said Case 93, a 38-year-old Singaporean man, also has no recent travel history to China, Daegu and Cheongdo.
The man, who lives at Bukit Batok Street 31, reported onset of symptoms on Feb 17 and sought treatment at a general practitioner’s clinic the next day and on Feb 23.
He went to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) on Feb 25 and was immediately isolated.
Test results confirmed COVID-19 infection the next morning.
Explore our interactive: All the COVID-19 cases in Singapore and the clusters and links between them
PATIENTS DISCHARGED
Among those discharged include Case 18, a 31-year-old woman who arrived in Singapore from Wuhan on Jan 22. She tested positive for the infection on Feb 1.
She had travelled to Singapore with Case 12, a 37-year-old woman from Wuhan who was confirmed on Jan 29 and discharged on Feb 12.
Case 18 is the last of Singapore’s 22 imported cases to recover from the infection.
Case 72 is a 40-year-old male Chinese work pass holder who is a family member of Case 79, a 35-year-old Malaysian work pass holder as well as a non-medical contact of Case 59, an anaesthesiologist. The anaesthesiologist was discharged on Wednesday.
The remaining two patients who were discharged on Thursday – Cases 78 and 80 – are linked to the cluster at the Grace Assembly of God church.
Case 78 is a 57-year-old Singaporean woman who lives in the Dairy Farm area.
She works in an administrative function at a Voluntary Welfare Organisation (VWO) community hospital, and had not interacted with patients since she started feeling ill on Feb 9.
She was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Feb 17.
Case 80 is a 38-year-old Singaporean woman who works at NUH in an administrative function.
The woman, who lives at Fernvale Link, had not interacted with patients since onset of symptoms on Feb 4.
She is linked to Case 66 – a 28-year-old Singaporean man who works at Grace Assembly of God church.
As of noon on Feb 27, MOH has identified 2,887 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 245 are currently quarantined, and 2,642 have completed their quarantine.
READ: Commentary: Three scenarios if the COVID-19 outbreak gets worse
Singapore has implemented various measures, which include border restrictions, contact tracing and quarantine policies, to contain the spread of the coronavirus since the first case was detected in late January.
The health ministry on Wednesday said two Chinese nationals will be charged for giving false information and obstructing the conduct of contact tracing by the authorities.
On the same day, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said that a man who breached a Stay-Home Notice had lost his permanent residency and will be barred from re-entering Singapore.
READ: Japanese woman confirmed as COVID-19 case for 2nd time, weeks after initial recovery
COVID-19, which emerged in China late last year, has killed more than 2,700 people and infected at least 80,000, mainly in mainland China.
The virus has since spread across the world, with a rising number of cases reported in more than 30 countries and territories.
In Asia, South Korea remains the most-affected country after China, with the outbreak traced to a religious sect in the southern city of Daegu.
Iran and Italy have also seen a fast-rising number of confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed Latin America’s first infection on Wednesday.
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