First Covid-19 patient in ICU in over a month; imported case under probe for possible breach of travel rules

SINGAPORE — Singapore on Thursday (Nov 19) reported its first Covid-19 patient in the intensive care unit in over a month.

In its evening update on the coronavirus situation in the country, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that one patient is in critical condition under intensive care. No further details were provided by the ministry.

The last time there was a Covid-19 patient in ICU was on Oct 11.

Earlier in the afternoon, MOH said that there were four new cases of infection here — all of which were imported. There were no cases in the wider community for the ninth day in a row.

A majority of the fresh cases have no symptoms, MOH said.

The four imported cases comprise one Singaporean, one permanent resident, one work permit holder and one special pass holder.

MOH said that the Singaporean is a 68-year-old man with travel history to Indonesia.

He had been experiencing shortness of breath since Nov 11 but had declared that he did not have any of the specified symptoms, including shortness of breath, in his health declaration form submitted for immigration clearance on Nov 17.

MOH said that investigations are ongoing to assess if there has been any breach of its travel requirements.

“We urge everyone to continue to exercise social responsibility and will not hesitate to take enforcement actions against those who breach the rules,” it warned.

The rest of the fresh cases announced on Thursday have no symptoms. They include a 51-year-old woman from Montenegro on a special pass who arrived here to board a ship as a crew member. The other two had travel histories to India and Indonesia.

All four new cases were placed on stay-home notices upon their arrival in Singapore where they were tested for the coronavirus.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained low with no new cases reported in the past week, MOH said.

UPDATES ON REMAINING CASES

The total number of infections in Singapore now stands at 58,139.

Of these, 58,052 people have fully recovered and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities, including six on Thursday.

There are still 28 patients in hospitals and most are in stable condition or improving, aside from the one patient on Thursday who is in intensive care.

Another 31 patients are isolated and being cared for at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still tested positive for Covid-19.

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