Covid-19: Foreign couple to be charged for giving false information of whereabouts during contact tracing, quarantine

SINGAPORE  — A foreign couple will be charged in court on Friday (Feb 28) under the Infectious Diseases Act for giving false information to officials from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and obstructing their contact tracing work, after the man was discovered to have been infected with the Covid-19 disease.

In a media statement issued on Wednesday, MOH said that Hu Jun, a 38-year-old male Chinese national from Wuhan, had arrived in Singapore on Jan 22 and was confirmed to be infected with Covid-19 on Jan 31.

His 36-year-old wife, Shi Sha, was identified as a close contact of his and was consequently issued a quarantine order on Feb 1.

The MOH said the couple gave false information to the ministry about their movements and whereabouts from Jan 22 to Jan 29 when they were contacted for the purposes of contact tracing.

Shi, who is a Chinese national residing in Singapore, had also provided false information while under quarantine.

However, the MOH said it was able to establish the couple’s true movements through detailed investigations.

Details of their movements were not revealed in the statement.

MOH said charges were served to the couple on Tuesday in view of the potentially serious repercussions of the false information they gave, and the risk they could have posed to public health.

The ministry reiterated that once a Covid-19 case is confirmed, it initiates contact tracing to identify individuals who may have been exposed to the case while he or she was symptomatic.

“Close contacts are monitored closely and may be quarantined, so that they can be identified and treated early if they develop the disease,” MOH said. 

“This measure also prevents close contacts from mingling in the community if they become symptomatic, and helps to contain further transmission of Covid-19.”

MOH said that Hu has since fully recovered from the infection and was discharged from hospital on Feb 19.

Anyone convicted of an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act is liable to a fine not exceeding S$10,000, imprisonment up to six months, or to both.

MOH reminded the public that under the Act, it is an offence for anyone to withhold or provide inaccurate information to ministry officials during contact tracing.

“MOH views such actions seriously and will not hesitate to take appropriate action against the perpetrators,” it said.