1 of 2 locally transmitted Covid-19 case didn’t see doctor when sick; detected during TB screening

SINGAPORE — A Singaporean import officer at a logistics firm who is based at the Changi Cargo Megaplex and a Bangladeshi worker staying in a dormitory made up the two locally transmitted Covid-19 cases in Singapore on Friday (Feb 5).

In an update of the coronavirus situation here, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the 56-year-old Singaporean man had developed a cough on Feb 2 but did not seek medical attention and had gone to work.

The ministry stressed that the man’s job does not “entail interaction with flight passengers”.

The man, who works at Yusen Logistics, then went to the Tuberculosis Control Unit on Feb 4 for a tuberculosis (TB) screening as he had been identified as a contact of a TB case at his workplace.

It was there that he was tested for the coronavirus after he reported his symptoms, MOH said.

The man’s test result came back positive on Thursday.

MOH said that the man had been tested earlier, on Jan 18, and it had returned negative.

The other locally transmitted case, a 31-year-old Bangladeshi work pass holder, arrived in Singapore on Dec 13 and was in quarantine until Dec 27.

His swab test on Dec 23 turned out negative and another test on Jan 13 was negative, too.

However, a subsequent test taken on Feb 4 came back positive.

MOH said that it classified the man’s case as “locally transmitted” as there had been a relatively long time interval between his travel and the positive Covid-19 test.

“He has not started work since arriving in Singapore and stays at a dormitory located at 1 Soon Lee Street (in Boon Lay),” MOH said.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has jumped from none in the week before to four in the past week. The number of cases with no known links in the community has also gone up from none in the week before to three in the past week.

IMPORTED CASES

There were also 23 imported cases of Covid-19 on Friday and all had been placed on stay-home notices upon their arrival here.

The 23 are:

• Three Singaporeans and two permanent residents who returned from Canada, India, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

• Two dependant’s pass holders who came from India and the UAE

• Four work pass holders who arrived from India, Russia and the UAE

• Eleven work permit holders who came from Indonesia and Myanmar, all of whom are foreign domestic workers

• One short-term visit pass holder who arrived from the Netherlands

UPDATE ON REMAINING CASES

The total number of infections in Singapore is now 59,649.

Of these, 59,373 people have fully recovered and been discharged, including 25 on Friday.

There are 41 patients in hospitals, including one who is in intensive care.

Another 206 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.