SINGAPORE — The socially irresponsible actions of a few individuals who attended events and activities despite being unwell had led to the spread of Covid-19 in many of the locally transmitted cases, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.

“Socially irresponsible behaviour poses a risk to all,” it said in a statement on Tuesday (March 10). "The measures we have implemented will not work if individuals do not cooperate and continue to engage in socially irresponsible behaviour."

The ministry added: "“We urge all Singaporeans to play their part in the fight against the virus. Those who are unwell, even with mild flu-like symptoms, should see a doctor and stay at home to prevent spreading illness to others.”

As of Monday, there were a total of 160 confirmed cases in Singapore. Of these, around 35 admitted to not minimising social contact despite having developed a fever or respiratory symptoms.

These individuals also continued to go to work and carried on with their daily activities despite being ill, the ministry said.

They also did not consult a doctor on the early onset of their symptoms, it added.  

The coronavirus causes symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, and in severe cases, pneumonia.

MOH urged Singaporeans to be socially responsible to help slow down the spread of the disease, stressing that this is “a critical factor” in the battle to ring-fence the transmission. Those who are unwell, even with mild flu-like symptoms, should see a doctor and stay at home, the ministry reiterated.

Giving examples of how the disease spreads because of the irresponsible behaviour of some people, it said that three people working at Wizlearn Technologies continued with their daily activities despite feeling unwell.

One of the nine staff members at the e-learning solutions firm spread the virus to a family contact, who also carried on with daily activities while having symptoms.

This, in turn, resulted in another four cases, all of whom did not work at the company, which is located at Science Park.

It thus became a cluster with 14 confirmed cases so far.

As for the biggest cluster, which is linked to a private dinner function on Feb 15 at the Joy Garden Restaurant in Safra Jurong, MOH said that an individual was unwell but went ahead to attend the event.

This likely resulted in 18 people at the dinner testing positive for the virus.

Of the 18, 10 continued with daily activities despite feeling unwell, resulting in 17 more cases — none of whom had attended the dinner.

The cluster had 36 infections as of Monday. 

DOCTOR-HOPPING

MOH also highlighted the issue of doctor-hopping and urged the public to see the same doctor so that appropriate assessments can be made.

It revealed that out of the 160 confirmed cases, 24 per cent — or 38 people — visited more than one general practitioner (GP) clinic. Of the 38, eight visited three or more GP clinics.

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The ministry said that its ability to carry out effective contact tracing requires the cooperation of individuals to provide “comprehensive and truthful accounts” of their activities when they are interviewed.

“Otherwise our ability to quickly get in contact with others who may have been infected and to ring-fence clusters will be delayed,” it said.