Wuhan virus outbreak: Singapore confirms 3 more cases, bringing total to 10

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SINGAPORE — Three more people have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus in Singapore, making it 10 cases of infection seen here so far.

In a press release on Wednesday (Jan 29), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that all three cases are Chinese nationals who travelled to Singapore from Wuhan, China.

“This is consistent with our assessment that more imported cases are expected from Hubei province. There is currently no evidence of community spread in Singapore,” MOH said.

Seven cases were earlier confirmed by the ministry.

NEW CASES CONFIRMED

Two of the latest three who are infected are a married couple, both aged 56.

The residents of Wuhan arrived together in Singapore on Jan 19 and are warded in isolation rooms at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

Both reported that they did not have symptoms during the flight to Singapore. They developed symptoms on Jan 24 and took a taxi to Tan Tock Seng Hospital on Jan 27.

They were classified as suspect cases and immediately isolated at NCID.

Test results later confirmed that they have the Wuhan coronavirus. The results were confirmed on Jan 28 at about 11pm and Jan 29 at about 2pm.

Before their hospital admission, the couple stayed with their family at their home on Lorong Lew Lian in Upper Serangoon, MOH said in its statement.

As for the 10th confirmed case, it is a 56 year-old Chinese national who arrived in Singapore from Wuhan on Jan 20, and he is warded in an isolation room at NCID.

He, too, did not have symptoms during his flight to Singapore but developed them on Jan 21.

The man worked and lived on board a cargo vessel before he went to the hospital, MOH said.

He was admitted to NCID on Jan 28 after being identified as a suspect case at a health screening station at Marina South Pier.

Test results out on Jan 29 at about 2pm showed that he was infected with the Wuhan coronavirus.

The ministry has since started epidemiological investigations and contact tracing to identify individuals who had close contact with these three patients.

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

“As for the seven previously announced cases, all of them remain in stable condition, and most are improving.”

124 PEOPLE TESTED NEGATIVE

As of midday on Wednesday, MOH said that 124 of the suspected cases have tested negative for the Wuhan coronavirus, and eight have tested positive, with cases nine and 10 confirmed at about 2pm. Test results for the remaining 70 cases are pending.

MOH added that contact tracing for the confirmed cases is ongoing. Once identified, it 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.

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.

The ministry added that as of midday on Wednesday, 144 close contacts have been identified

“Of the 115 who are still in Singapore, 111 have been contacted and are being quarantined or isolated. Efforts are ongoing to contact the remaining four close contacts.” 

HEALTH ADVISORY

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

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

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

“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.

For the latest on the Wuhan coronavirus updates, visit https://tdy.sg/Wuhanvirus