SINGAPORE — Four more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Singapore, bringing the total number of cases here to 28.

In a media statement on Wednesday (Feb 5) the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that three of the patients are linked to the cluster of the local transmission which was announced on Tuesday, while one is an imported case involving a Chinese tourist from Wuhan.

One of the latest cases is the husband of the tour guide who took the tour group from Guangxi, China to Yong Thai Hang, a health product shop off Lavender Street in Jalan Besar that serves mainly Chinese tourists.

The 40-year-old man worked at Diamond Industries Jewellery Company which was visited by the same tour group from Guangxi. The company is located on Harbour Drive in Pasir Panjang. 

The husband of a woman who works at Yong Thai Hang as well as their six-month old boy were the other two cases linked to the tour group.

Apart from Yong Thai Hang and Diamond Industries Jewellery Company, the tour group also visited Meeting You Restaurant (14 Hamilton Road off Lavender Street), Royal Dragon Restaurant (2 Havelock Road), T Galleria by DFS (25 Scotts Road) and D’Resort @ Downtown East (1 Pasir Ris Close), MOH said.

It has been almost 14 days since the tourists visited these places.

MOH said: “We have reached out to 142 contacts, and all but one are well. The person has been isolated as a suspect case and test results are pending.” 

“There is as yet no evidence of widespread community transmission in Singapore,” the ministry added.

THE FOUR NEW PATIENTS

Case 25

• A 40-year-old male Singapore citizen who has no recent travel history to China, and is the husband of case 24 which was announced on Tuesday.

• He is warded in an isolation room at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

• He reported that he developed a fever on Jan 24.

• He then visited Hougang Polyclinic with his wife on Jan 30, and self-presented at NCID on Feb 3, where he was immediately isolated.

• Subsequent test results confirmed the coronavirus infection on Feb 4 at about 8pm.

• Before he was admitted, he was living in Buangkok Green and worked at Diamond Industries Jewellery Company.

• He indicated that he had visited Pasir Panjang Hawker Centre and had travelled by public transport.

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

Case 26

• A 42-year-old female Chinese national who arrived in Singapore from Wuhan on Jan 21, and is the daughter of case 13.

• As she was having symptoms, she was taken by ambulance to NCID on the same day as her mother and immediately isolated. She is warded in an isolation room at NCID.

• Subsequent test results confirmed the coronavirus infection on Feb 4 at about 8pm.

Cases 27 and 28

• They are family members of case 19, a 28-year-old female Singapore permanent resident who works at Yong Thai Hang. The family members had no recent travel history to China.

   

• Case 27 is a 45-year-old male Singapore citizen who is the husband of Case 19.

• He was tested positive for coronavirus infection on Feb 5 at about 2pm, and is warded in an isolation room at NCID.

• Case 28 is a six-month-old male Singapore citizen who is the child of Cases 19 and 27.

• He was tested positive for the coronavirus infection on Feb 5 at about 2pm, and is warded in an isolation room at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

• MOH has since started epidemiological investigations and contact-tracing to identify individuals who had close contact with the cases.

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UPDATE ON PREVIOUSLY CONFIRMED CASES

Cases 22 and 23 are male Singapore Citizens aged 41 and 17 respectively. They were among the Singaporeans who had been evacuated from Wuhan on Jan 30. They are now warded in isolation rooms at the NCID.

Case 24 is a 32-year-old female Singapore citizen who went to NCID on Feb 3, and was confirmed to have the coronavirus infection on Feb 4 at about 2pm. She is warded in an isolation room at NCID.

While she had previously reported that she was asymptomatic when she went to NCID, she later informed NCID on Feb 4 night that she had developed a fever on Jan 30.

Prior to hospital admission, she stayed at her home in Buangkok Green and worked at Jalan Besar. She visited Hougang Polyclinic on Jan 30, and went to a supermarket near her home.

OVERSEAS CASES WHO HAD BEEN IN SINGAPORE

In its media statement, MOH said that the local cluster of transmission — involving cases 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27 and 28 — can be traced to contact with a tour group from Guangxi comprising 20 tourists who had visited Singapore from Jan 22 to Jan 23, and on Jan 27.

The Chinese health authorities have since confirmed that two travellers from the group have been infected with the coronavirus.

MOH said that it has also conducted contact-tracing of the crew and passengers of the departing flight on Jan 27 with the tour group on board. Five are still in Singapore and they have since been quarantined.

Separately, Malaysia and South Korea had on Feb 4 and Feb 5 respectively announced confirmed cases linked to a private business meeting involving 109 participants from a company, held at Grand Hyatt Singapore from Jan 20 to Jan 22.

There were 94 overseas participants, MOH said, adding that they have all left Singapore. “We have informed the relevant overseas health authorities.” 

Of the 15 Singapore residents, 11 are well and four have reported symptoms and have been referred to NCID for assessment.

UPDATE ON CONFIRMED CASES

In its media statement, MOH said that all the new cases announced on Wednesday are stable.

Among the earlier 24 confirmed cases, one has been discharged.

Of the remaining 23, most are stable or improving, except for one who requires additional oxygen support, but is not in the intensive care unit.

UPDATE ON SUSPECT CASES

As of midday on Wednesday, 295 of the suspect cases have tested negative for the coronavirus and 28 have tested positive, with cases 27 and 28 confirmed at about 2pm that day.

Test results for the remaining 62 cases are pending.

UPDATE ON CONTACT TRACING FOR THE CONFIRMED CASES

MOH said that contact-tracing for the confirmed cases is ongoing.

Once identified, it will closely monitor all close contacts. As a precautionary measure, they 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 Wednesday, MOH has identified 379 close contacts.

Of the 304 who are still in Singapore, 299 have been contacted and are being quarantined or isolated. Efforts are ongoing to contact the remaining five close contacts.

HEALTH ADVISORY

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

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

MOH 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,” the ministry said.