Covid-19: 9 more cases in S’pore, as Safra Jurong cluster continues to grow

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (March 12) announced nine more cases of Covid-19 infections. Of these, three were traced to a private dinner function at Safra Jurong, bringing the number of cases linked to the cluster to 43. It is the largest Covid-19 cluster in the country.

MOH said that the other five of the new cases were imported, while one is linked to a previous case.

This brings the total number of infections in the country to 187. Of these, a total of 96 cases have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital.

Of the 91 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving, MOH said.

Nine people are in critical condition under intensive care.

The World Health Organization had on Wednesday declared the Covid-19 outbreak a global pandemic, in view of the rising number of cases reported around the world.

MOH said that Singapore has been planning ahead, and the authorities have been progressively putting in place a suite of measures in preparation for a possible escalation of the situation, both here and globally.

“The situation in Singapore remains under control, and we are not changing the Dorscon level,” MOH said, referring to the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition level, which was raised from Yellow to Orange on Feb 7.

In a separate announcement on Thursday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singapore will not be going to Dorscon Red or “locking down our city like the Chinese, South Koreans or Italians have done”.

Speaking in a recorded message, Mr Lee said that the Government is planning ahead for more stringent measures that will be tried out in preparation for actual implementation when necessary.

These include temporary “additional social distancing measures” such as suspending school, staggering work hours, or compulsory telecommuting.

“They will be extra ‘brakes’, to be implemented when we see a spike in cases. The extra brakes will slow down transmission of the virus, prevent our healthcare system from being overwhelmed, and help bring the numbers back down,” Mr Lee said. “After the situation improves, we can ease off and go back to the baseline precautions.”

THE LATEST CASES

Case 179

• Case 179 is a 66-year-old Singaporean woman who had been in Malaysia on Feb 22.

• She is warded in an isolation room at the National University Hospital.

• She is a contact of Case 121 and is linked to the Safra Jurong cluster where people attended a dinner event at Joy Garden Restaurant on Feb 15.

• She first reported the onset of symptoms on Feb 27 and had sought treatment at a general practitioner (GP) clinic on Feb 29, and March 9 and 11.

• She was then referred to the National University Hospital on March 11, and test results confirmed she has Covid-19 on the afternoon of March 11.

• Before she was warded, she had mostly stayed at home on Jurong West Street 73.

Case 180

• Case 180 is an imported case involving a 71-year-old Singaporean man who had been in the United States from Feb 27 to March 10.

• He was confirmed to have Covid-19 infection on the morning of March 12, and is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

Cases 181 and 182

• They are both imported cases and family members: A 83-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman, both Indonesians, had arrived in Singapore on March 9.

• They were confirmed to have Covid-19 on the morning of March 12, and are warded at Gleneagles Hospital.

Case 183

• Case 183 is a 29-year-old Singaporean man who had been in Malaysia from Feb 29 to March 4. He tested positive for Covid-19 on the morning of March 12 and is warded in an isolation room at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

• He had attended a mass religious gathering at a mosque in Malaysia, and the Malaysian authorities later reported that several confirmed Covid-19 cases were linked to the event.

Case 184

• Case 184 is a 35-year-old Filipino and Singapore work pass holder who had been in the Philippines from Feb 24 to March 1.

• He tested positive on the morning of March 12, and is warded in an isolation room at NCID. He is linked to Case 172, a 42-year-old Filipina who had been in the Philippines from Feb 27 to March 2. 

Case 185

• Case 185 is a 34-year-old Singaporean man who had been in Malaysia from Feb 22 to Feb 23.

• He was confirmed to have Covid-19 infection on the morning of March 12 and is currently warded in an isolation room at NCID. He is linked to Case 142, a 26-year-old Singaporean man who went to a rock-climbing gym at Asperia Mall in Kallang.

Case 186

• Case 186 is a 64-year-old Singaporean man who did not travel recently to affected countries and regions.

• He was diagnosed on March 12 in the morning and is warded in an isolation room at NCID. He is linked to Case 166, a 55-year-old Singaporean woman who has links to the Safra Jurong cluster.

Case 187

• Case 187 is a 48-year-old Singaporean man who had been in Malaysia from Feb 28 to March 2.

• He was confirmed to have Covid-19 on the morning of March 12 and is warded in an isolation room at NCID.

• He had attended the same mass religious gathering at a mosque in Malaysia that Case 183 attended.

LINKS BETWEEN PREVIOUS CASES

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.

• Eight of the locally transmitted confirmed cases (Cases 31, 33, 38, 83, 90, 91, 138 and 151), as well as Cases 8 and 9, are linked to The Life Church and Missions Singapore. These cases are 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.

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

• Fourteen of the confirmed cases (Cases 93, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 108 and 110) are linked to Wizlearn Technologies.

• Forty-three of the confirmed cases (Cases 94, 96, 107, 112, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 122, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 137, 139, 140, 142, 144, 145, 146, 148, 149, 150, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 164, 166, 174, 179, 185 and 186) are linked to a private dinner function at Safra Jurong on Feb 15.

• Three of the confirmed cases (Cases 142, 162 and 163) are linked to Boulder+ Gym (12 Kallang Avenue).

MOH said that investigations on these clusters are ongoing.

It added that contact tracing is underway for nine locally transmitted cases to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to affected countries or regions.