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Novel coronavirus: 2 more cases in S’pore, including one with no travel history to China or apparent link with previous cases

SINGAPORE — Two more cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Singapore: One linked to a business conference at Grand Hyatt hotel and another with no recent travel history to mainland China and does not appear to be linked with previous cases.

Office workers in Singapore donning masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Office workers in Singapore donning masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

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SINGAPORE — Two more cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Singapore: One linked to a business conference at Grand Hyatt hotel and another with no recent travel history to mainland China and does not appear to be linked with previous cases.

This brings the total number of people infected with the virus here to 30, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 6).

It also said that the condition of two patients has worsened. One is in critical condition in the intensive care unit, and another requires additional oxygen support.

The rest of the earlier confirmed cases are in stable condition or improving. One has been discharged.

For the patient who has no apparent links with previous cases, MOH said that contact tracing is still in progress, with a focus on identifying any links he may have had with past cases or travellers from China.

MOH said that so far, all of the previously confirmed cases have been either People’s Republic of China travellers from Hubei, or individuals with links to these Chinese travellers.

“All such cases have been isolated and ring-fenced,” MOH said, adding that Singaporeans must be prepared for the possibility of new infection clusters involving locals within the community, not linked with recent travel to China or contact with recent Chinese travellers.

Reminding Singaporeans that “this has already happened in several places outside of mainland China”, MOH said that it had earlier stepped up significantly Singapore’s precautionary measures to reduce the risk of community spread of the virus.

“We stand ready to ramp up our measures even more once we have some findings from the ongoing investigations.”

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UPDATE ON NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES

Case 29

  • Case 29 is a 41-year-old Singapore citizen who has no recent travel history to China.

  • He was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital on Feb 3.

  • Subsequent test results confirmed the novel coronavirus infection on Feb 5 at about 11pm.

  • He has been transferred to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) for further treatment and is now warded in an isolation room.

  • The patient had earlier reported that he had developed a fever on Jan 28, and visited a general practitioner (GP) clinic the next day.

  • He then sought treatment at another GP clinic on Jan 30 before being admitted to hospital on Feb 3.

  • MOH said that epidemiological investigations and contact-tracing are ongoing to identify individuals who had close contact with the man, and to establish any link he may have had with confirmed cases in Singapore or travellers from mainland China.

  • MOH said: “We are interviewing the patient and his close contacts, and investigating the locations he had recently been to.”

Case 30

  • Case 30 is a 27-year-old Singapore citizen who has no recent travel history to China.

  • He is one of the four Singapore residents who are being investigated at NCID after attending a private business meeting at Grand Hyatt Singapore from Jan 20 to 22.

  • The meeting included participants from China, such as those from Hubei, and the confirmed cases from Malaysia and South Korea.

  • Subsequent test results showed a novel coronavirus infection on Feb 6 at about 2pm.

  • He is warded in an isolation room at NCID.

UPDATE ON CONFIRMED CASES

Cases 27 and 28

  • Case 27 and 28 are family members of Case 19, a 28-year-old female Singapore permanent resident who works at Chinese medicinal hall Yong Thai Hang off Lavender Street. The family members were confirmed to be infected on Feb 5 at about 2pm.

  • Case 27 reported that he developed symptoms on Feb 1.

  • He visited a GP clinic on Feb 2 and was later isolated at the NCID on Feb 4.

  • Prior to hospital admission, he stayed at his home at Jalan Bukit Merah and worked as a private-hire driver.

  • He indicated that he had visited Tiong Bahru Plaza, Tiong Bahru Market and Beo Crescent Market and Food Centre.

  • The risk of infection from transient contact, such as on public transport or in public places, is assessed to be low.

  • Case 28 was cared for at home and was not in any infant care facility before hospital admission.

UPDATE ON SUSPECT CASES

As of midday on Thursday, 310 of the suspect cases have tested negative for the novel coronavirus, and 30 have tested positive, with Case 30 being confirmed at about 2pm that day.

Test results for the remaining 147 cases are pending, MOH said.

CONTACT TRACING FOR CONFIRMED CASES

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

Once identified, MOH will closely monitor all close contacts. As a precautionary measure, they will also be quarantined for 14 days from their last exposure to the patient.

In addition, all other identified contacts with a lower risk of having been infected will be under active surveillance, and will be contacted daily to monitor their health status.

As of midday on Thursday, MOH has identified 435 close contacts. Of the 353 who are still in Singapore, 348 have been contacted and are being quarantined or isolated.

“Efforts are ongoing to contact the remaining five close contact,” MOH said.

HEALTH ADVISORY

MOH advised Singaporeans to defer all travel to Hubei province and all non-essential travel to mainland China. The viral outbreak started in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei province.

All travellers should monitor their health closely for two weeks upon return to Singapore and seek medical attention promptly if they feel unwell.

Travellers should inform their doctor of their travel history. If they have a fever or respiratory symptoms, they should wear a mask and call the clinic ahead of the visit.

MOH said that it will continue to monitor the situation closely.

“As medical practitioners are on the lookout for suspect cases who have recently been in China, Singapore is likely to see more cases that will need to be investigated,” MOH said.

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