Covid-19: SAF regular among 3 new victims as Grace Assembly of God cluster grows to 18 cases

SINGAPORE — Three new cases of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, have been confirmed in Singapore, while another patient has been discharged from hospital.

Of the three new confirmed cases, two are linked to the cluster at Grace Assembly of God church — with one of them being a regular serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

In its press release on Sunday (Feb 16), MOH said that the serviceman has not gone to work since the onset of his symptoms.

The total number of confirmed cases linked to the Grace Assembly of God church cluster is now 18.

In a separate media statement, the Ministry of Defence said that the SAF regular who tested positive worked at Building 613 of Tengah Air Base.

The serviceman last visited his place of work on Feb 6. As a precautionary measure, the SAF has since carried out immediate and thorough disinfection of the premises the serviceman had been in.

As of Sunday, the total number of confirmed cases in Singapore is 75, with 19 having recovered from the virus. Five are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

LINKS BETWEEN PREVIOUS CASES FOUND

In its press release, MOH said that further epidemiological investigations and contact tracing have uncovered links between previously announced and the new confirmed cases. This was made possible with the assistance of the Singapore Police Force, MOH said.

• Cases 8 and 9, as well as Cases 31, 33 and 38, are linked to The Life Church and Missions Singapore (146B Paya Lebar Road).

• Nine of the confirmed cases (Cases 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 28, 34 and 40) are linked to the cluster associated with health products shop Yong Thai Hang (24 Cavan Road off Lavender Street).

• Three of the confirmed cases (Cases 30, 36 and 39) are linked to the private business meeting held at Grand Hyatt Singapore from Jan 20 to 22.

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

• Eighteen of the confirmed cases (Cases 48, 49, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 73 and 74) are linked to the Grace Assembly of God church.

The MOH said that investigations on these clusters are ongoing. In addition to the clusters, investigations have identified the following links between cases:

• Case 44, a 37-year-old Singaporean man who works at Certis Cisco Centre and had served Quarantine Orders on two people from Wuhan, was linked to Cases 13 and 26, a mother-and-daughter pair from Wuhan;

• Case 65, a 61-year-old Singaporean woman, is a family member of Case 50, a 62-year-old employee of DBS bank, and Case 55, a 30-year-old Singaporean man who works at Pulau Bukom and went to the Catholic Church of Christ the King;

• Case 72, a 40 year-old male Chinese national who is a Singapore work pass holder and has no recent travel history to China, is a non-medical contact of Case 59, a 61-year-old Singaporean man who works at a private hospital here; and

• Case 75, a 71-year-old Singaporean woman, is a family member of Case 41, a 71-year-old Singaporean man who visited Paya Lebar Methodist Church and a gathering at Braddell Heights Residents’ Committee. 

The health ministry added that contact tracing is underway for the other seven locally transmitted cases to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to mainland China.

THE CONFIRMED CASES

Case 73

• Case 73 is a 43-year-old male Singaporean who did not go to China recently.

• He is warded in an isolation room at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). He is linked to the cluster at Grace Assembly of God.

• He reported onset of symptoms on Feb 9 and sought treatment at a general practitioner (GP) clinic on Feb 10. As he was identified as a close contact of Case 51 — a 41-year-old Singaporean man who worked at both the Tanglin and Bukit Batok churches of Grace Assembly of God — he was served a home quarantine order on Feb 13 and taken to NCID the next day.

• Test results confirmed Covid-19 infection on Feb 15 at noon.

• Before he was warded, he had attended church service at Grace Assembly of God (Tanglin). He is a regular serviceman in the SAF but had not gone to work since the onset of symptoms. He lives in the Toa Payoh Lorong 8 area.

Case 74

• Case 74 is a 29-year-old male Singaporean with no recent travel history to China. He is warded in an isolation room at Alexandra Hospital. He is linked to the cluster at Grace Assembly of God.

• He reported an onset of symptoms on Feb 12. He sought treatment at the Urgent Care Centre at Alexandra Hospital that day, and again on Feb 15 when he was admitted and immediately isolated.

• Test results confirmed Covid-19 infection on Feb 15 at noon.

• Before he was admitted to hospital, he had gone to work at Hi-Yew Technology (3031A Ubi Road). He lives along Mei Ling Street in Queenstown.

Case 75

• Case 75 is a 71-year-old female Singaporean with no recent travel history to China.

• She is a family member of Case 41 and had been under quarantine since Feb 7. She was confirmed to have Covid-19 infection on Feb 16 in the morning and is warded in an isolation room at NCID.

Contact tracing for the confirmed cases is ongoing, said MOH.

As of midday on Sunday, MOH has identified 2,179 close contacts. Of the 2,045 who are still in Singapore, 1,781 have been contacted and are being quarantined or isolated. Efforts are ongoing to contact the remaining 264 close contacts.

UPDATES ON PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED CASES

Case 68

• Case 68 is a 79-year-old female Singaporean with no recent travel history to China.

• She is warded in an isolation room at NCID and is a family member of Case 66, a 28-year-old Singaporean man who works at Grace Assembly of God.

• Before she was warded, she had attended church service at Bethany Presbyterian Church (364A Paya Lebar Road). She lives on Mei Hwan Drive near Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.

Case 69

• Case 69 is a 26-year-old Bangladesh national who is a Singapore work pass holder, and has no recent travel history to China.

• He is warded in an isolation room at NCID. He is linked to the cluster at Seletar Aerospace Heights construction site.

• He had been identified as a close contact of Cases 42, 47, 52 and 56, who were all migrant workers from Bangladesh. He had been quarantined at a government quarantine facility from Feb 11.

Case 70

• Case 70 is a 27-year-old female Singaporean with no recent travel history to China.

• She is warded in an isolation room at NCID and is a family member of Case 66, a 28-year-old Singaporean man who works at Grace Assembly of God.

• Prior to hospital admission, she had attended church services at God’s Kingdom Bread of Life Church (37 Jalan Pemimpin in Marymount), and gone to work at HipVan Singapore (19 Kallang Avenue). She lives on Mei Hwan Drive near Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.

Case 71

• Case 71 is a 25-year-old male Singaporean with no recent travel history to China.

• He is warded in an isolation room at NCID. He is a contact of Case 66, a 28-year-old Singaporean man who works at Grace Assembly of God, and Case 70 above.

• Before he was warded, he had gone to work at a construction site along Fernvale Lane in Sengkang and had attended church services at God’s Kingdom Bread of Life Church. He lives on Fernvale Road.

Case 72

• Case 72 is a 40-year-old male Chinese national who is a Singapore work pass holder, and has no recent travel history to China. He is a non-medical contact of Case 59, a 61-year-old Singaporean man who works at a private hospital here.

• Before he was admitted to NCID on Feb 14, he had visited Marina Bay Sands Casino (10 Bayfront Avenue) and gone to work at Aim Heng Car Service (Woodlands Industrial Park). He stays at a rental apartment along Woodlands Crescent.

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this article stated that Case 73 is a Republic of Singapore Air Force regular, according to an MOH press release. Mindef has since clarified that the serviceman is a Singapore Armed Forces regular.