SINGAPORE: Two new COVID-19 patients were reported in Singapore on Friday (Feb 28), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a daily update. Both cases are linked to a newly identified cluster, Wizlearn Technologies, located at 10 Science Park Road.
This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 98. MOH added that three more patients have been discharged after recovering from the disease.
In all, 69 cases have fully recovered from the infection. Twenty-nine COVID-19 patients remain in hospital, with seven in ICU.
The Wizlearn Technologies cluster includes the latest two cases as well as cases 93 and 95.
Case 97 is a 44-year-old Singapore permanent resident who has no recent travel history to China or to the South Korean outbreak areas in Daegu and Cheongdo.
She is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and linked to Cases 93 and 95.
She reported the onset of symptoms on Feb 20 and sought treatment at GP clinic that same day. As she was a close contact of Case 93, she was referred by MOH to NCID on Feb 27 and immediately placed into isolation.
Test results confirmed her infection with COVID-19 on Feb 27.
Before her admission, she had gone to work at Wizlearn Technologies and attended a meeting at the Agency for Integrated Care on Maxwell Road.
She lives at Choa Chu Kang North 5.
Case 98 is a 24-year-old male Singapore permanent resident who has no recent travel history to China, Daegu or Cheongdo. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Feb 28 morning and is being warded in isolation at NCID. He is linked to Cases 93, 95 and 97.
According to information released by MOH on Friday, Case 95 reported symptoms on Feb 22 and sought treatment at two GP clinics on Feb 25 and 26; he was referred to NCID on Feb 26 and confirmed with COVID-19 on Feb 27 morning.
Prior to admission, he attended meetings at Sport Singapore, Singapore Aviation Academy and Toa Payoh Hub. He also visited Toa Payoh Sports Centre.
He stays at Choa Chu Kang Crescent.
As of noon on Feb 28, MOH has identified 2,940 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 191 are currently quarantined, and 2,749 have completed their quarantine.
THREE PATIENTS DISCHARGED
MOH said that 3 more patients – cases 52, 79 and 89 – were discharged on Friday.
Case 52 is a 37-year-old Bangladeshi and case 79 is a 36-year-old Malaysian. Case 89 is a 41-year-old permanent resident from Philippines.
On Thursday, MOH’s director of medical services Kenneth Mak said that discharged COVID-19 patients are not a threat to the community as they would have undergone several tests before being discharged.
Explore our interactive: All the COVID-19 cases in Singapore and the clusters and links between them
SUPPORT MEASURES
COVID-19, which emerged in China late last year, has killed more than 2,800 people and infected more than 80,000, mainly in mainland China.
The virus has also spread across the world, with a rising number of cases reported in more than 50 countries and territories.
Singapore has implemented various measures, including border restrictions, contact tracing and quarantine policies, to contain the spread of the coronavirus since the first case was detected in late January.
A couple from Wuhan were charged under the Infectious Diseases Act on Friday for obstructing the work of health officials containing the spread of COVID-19.
On Wednesday, 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.
Singapore has also set out a slew of measures in Budget 2020 – including a S$4 billion stabilisation and support package – to help businesses and workers weather through the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The measures are calibrated “to put sufficient purchasing power back into the economy, while injecting a boost of confidence”, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said during the Budget debate on Friday.
Mr Heng also said that Singapore has not had to draw on past reserves, but would not rule out doing so if the situation deteriorates significantly.
Mr Heng also announced on Friday that Singapore will award public officers on the front line of the COVID-19 battle with a special bonus of up to one month, while all political office holders, Members of Parliament and President Halimah Yacob will take a one-month cut in their salary.
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