Singaporean couple, prison staff officer among 4 new Covid-19 community cases

SINGAPORE — Singapore reported 24 new Covid-19 infections on Saturday (Jan 16), four of which were in the community. 

In its update on the Covid-19 situation on Saturday evening, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that a Singaporean couple were among the community cases. The husband, 39, does administrative work at the Singapore Scouts Association, while his wife, also 39, does similar work at OCBC Tampines Centre One. 

The man, who also works part-time as a bus driver, developed a fever on Jan 11, and saw a general practitioner via a tele-consultation. He then visited a polyclinic on Jan 13, where he was tested for Covid-19. 

He was confirmed to have the virus on Jan 15, and was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). 

“His serological test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection. He had not gone to work after onset of symptoms,” the ministry said. 

The man’s wife developed acute respiratory infection symptoms on Jan 13 and went to a general practitioner the next day. She was referred to a polyclinic for a Covid-19 test the same day. 

Her test result came back positive on Jan 15 and she was taken to the NCID. Her serological test result is pending.

MOH said that the woman does not interact with customers at work, adding that her last day at work was on Jan 8, before the onset of symptoms.

The third community case is a 33-year-old Chinese national who is a food processing worker. 

The work permit holder developed a cough on Jan 7 and visited a general practitioner. He was swabbed for Covid-19 but his test result came back negative on Jan 8. 

“He stayed at home on medical leave between Jan 7 and Jan 12, and went back to work on Jan 13,” the ministry said. 

However, he developed a fever on Jan 14 and went to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where he was again tested for the virus. This time, his test result came back positive on Jan 15 and he was taken to the NCID.  

The fourth community case is a 28-year-old Singaporean who works as a prison staff officer. 

She is the spouse of a 32-year-old Singaporean who works as a para-veterinarian at the Singapore Police Force. He was confirmed to have Covid-19 on Jan 13. 

She had been identified as his close contact and was placed on quarantine on Jan 13.

She developed acute respiratory infection symptoms on Jan 14 and was confirmed to have the virus on Jan 15. 

The woman does not interact with prison inmates, the ministry said.

“Due to workplace safe management measures, she has mainly been working from home during this period,” MOH added.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has gone down from eight cases in the week before to six cases in the past week. 

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased from five in the week before to four in the past week, MOH said. 

As for the 19 imported cases, the individuals had already been placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.

They include:

• A permanent resident who returned from India.
• Three dependant’s pass holders who arrived from the UAE and India.
• Two student’s pass holders who arrived from India and France.
• Five work pass holders who arrived from India, Japan, Spain and the UAE.
• Six work permit holders who arrived from India and Myanmar, of whom three are foreign domestic workers.

The remaining case is a 37-year-old Indian national who resides at Tuas South Dormitory.

He is asymptomatic, and was detected when his test taken on Jan 14 as part of rostered routine testing came back positive for Covid-19.

UPDATES ON REMAINING CASES

The total number of infections in Singapore is now 59,083.

Of these, 58,784 people have fully recovered and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities, including 13 on Saturday.

There are still 54 patients in hospitals and most are in stable condition or improving. No one is in intensive care.

Another 216 patients are isolated at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still tested positive for Covid-19.

Twenty-nine people have died from complications due to the disease.

“The recent locally transmitted cases are a stark reminder that we cannot afford to let our guard down,” said MOH in its update. 

“We must continue to keep up our discipline in adhering to the safe management and safe distancing measures, so as to avoid an uncontrolled resurgence of cases that may necessitate a tightening of measures,” it added.