SINGAPORE: One locally transmitted community case was among the 10 new COVID-19 infections reported in Singapore on Monday (Feb 22).
The remaining nine cases were imported and had been placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily update.
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The community case, a 43-year-old Singaporean man, is the husband of a previous case, a 41-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a cabin crew member with Singapore Airlines.
The man works as an event planner but has not been at work since Feb 1, said MOH. He was identified as a close contact of his wife and was placed in quarantine on Feb 9. His swab taken on the same day was negative for COVID-19.
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The man developed “anosmia”, or loss of smell, on Feb 15 during quarantine, but did not report his symptom, said MOH.
On Feb 20, he developed a fever and self-medicated, but again did not inform MOH of his symptoms. He was tested for COVID-19 the next day as part of MOH’s protocol to test individuals during quarantine, and the test came back positive on the same day.
He was taken in an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). His serological test result has come back negative, indicating that this was likely a current infection, said MOH, adding that the man was also tested for the B117 strain and the result is pending.
“Individuals on quarantine or stay-home notice are required to declare any symptoms promptly, and to report their health status to MOH every day,” said the Health Ministry.
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“They are provided with a list of COVID-19 symptoms to look out for, as well as reporting instructions, at the start of their isolation period. We remind these individuals to be socially responsible and to report their symptoms promptly, even if these are early/mild.”
No new infections were reported in foreign worker dormitories.
TWO SINGAPOREANS AMONG IMPORTED CASES
Two imported cases are Singaporeans who returned from Indonesia and the United Kingdom, while three other cases are dependant’s pass holders who arrived from India, Indonesia and the US.
Another three cases are work permit holders who arrived from Indonesia and Myanmar, of whom one is a foreign domestic worker.
The remaining imported case is a work pass holder who arrived from the Philippines.
Epidemiological investigations are ongoing.
In the meantime, all identified close contacts of the cases have been isolated and placed in quarantine. They will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine period.
“We will also conduct serological tests for the close contacts to determine if the cases could have been infected by them,” said MOH.
FIFTEEN MORE CASES DISCHARGED
Another 15 cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, taking Singapore’s total recoveries to 59,746.
There are 19 COVID-19 patients who are still in hospital. Most of them are stable or improving, and one person is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit.
A total of 85 patients are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are people who have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.
TRUCK DRIVER VISITED CASINO
The Health Ministry said on Sunday that it is investigating to assess if there was any breach of COVID-19 measures after a Malaysian truck driver visited Resorts World Sentosa Casino on Feb 9.
The driver who works as a freelance deliveryman was denied entry into Singapore on Thursday after he tested positive for COVID-19 in an antigen rapid test at Woodlands Checkpoint.
His polymerase chain reaction test also came back positive on Friday.
The man’s previous trip to Singapore was on Feb 8, when he tested negative for COVID-19 for his antigen rapid test at the checkpoint.
Investigations found that he had visited Resorts World Sentosa Casino on Feb 9, before leaving for Malaysia on the same day, said the ministry.
“Malaysian truck drivers are not allowed to mingle in the community other than for delivery purposes and are not to stay overnight,” said MOH.
“Investigations are ongoing to assess if there had been any breach of the relevant prevailing measures.”
As of Monday, Singapore has reported a total of 59,879 COVID-19 cases and 29 fatalities from the disease.
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