Wuhan virus outbreak: Singapore confirms 3 more cases, all Chinese nationals from Wuhan, bringing total to 13

SINGAPORE — Three more people have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus, taking the number of imported cases here to 13.

In a press release on Thursday (Jan 30), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the three new confirmed cases are all Chinese nationals from Wuhan who had travelled to Singapore.

“There is currently no evidence of community spread in Singapore,” MOH said.

BACKGROUND OF NEW PATIENTS

The 11th patient is a 31-year-old female resident of Wuhan, China who arrived in Singapore on Jan 22. She was a travelling companion of the fourth confirmed case here — a 36-year-old male Chinese national.

The woman is now warded in an isolation room at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

She reported that she did not have symptoms during her flight to Singapore, but after being identified as a close contact of the fourth confirmed case, she had been quarantined from Jan 26.

She then developed symptoms on Jan 27 and was admitted to the NCID.

“Subsequent test results confirmed Wuhan coronavirus infection on Jan 29 at about 11pm,” MOH said.

The 12th patient is a 37-year-old female Chinese national from Wuhan who arrived in Singapore with her family on Jan 22.

She is now warded in an isolation room at the NCID and similarly reported having no symptoms during her flight to Singapore.

On Jan 26, she developed symptoms and three days later, took a taxi to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. She was classified as a suspect case and immediately isolated at NCID.

Test results on Jan 29 at about 11pm confirmed that she was infected with the coronavirus.

Before her hospital admission, the woman stayed at Village Hotel Sentosa, Hotel 81 Princess and Home Suite View Hotel in Geylang. She also indicated that she had visited Orchard Road and Geylang, and had travelled by taxi.

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

The 13th patient is a 73-year-old female Chinese national who arrived in Singapore from Wuhan with her family on Jan 21.

She tested positive for coronavirus infection on Jan 30 at about 2pm, and is now warded in an isolation room at NCID. Her condition is stable.

MOH has since begun epidemiological investigations and contact tracing to identify individuals who had close contact with the new confirmed cases.

The three new patients are stable, MOH said, adding that it is continuing to monitor their health.

“As for the 10 previously announced cases, none is critically ill. All of them remain in stable condition, and most are improving.” 

UPDATE ON SUSPECTED CASES

As of midday on Thursday, 164 of the suspect cases have tested negative for the Wuhan coronavirus, and 13 have tested positive, with case 13 being confirmed at about 2pm.

Test results for the remaining 49 cases are pending, MOH said.

Contact tracing for the confirmed cases is ongoing. Once identified, MOH will closely monitor all close contacts.

As a precautionary measure, these contacts will be quarantined for 14 days from their last exposure to the patient. In addition, all other identified contacts who have a low risk of being infected will be under active surveillance, and will be contacted daily to monitor their health status.

As of midday on Thursday, MOH has identified 170 close contacts. Of the 139 who are still in Singapore, 135 have been contacted and are being quarantined or isolated.

Efforts are ongoing to contact the remaining four close contacts.

HEALTH ADVISORY

Singaporeans are advised to defer all travel to Hubei province and all non-essential travel to mainland China, MOH said.

All travellers should also 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, and If they have a fever or respiratory symptoms, they should wear a mask and call the clinic ahead of the visit.

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

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