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People wearing protective face masks stand near the Rain Vortex at the Jewel Changi Airport mall in Singapore. The Ministry of Health has reported 75 coronavirus cases. Photo: EPA-EFE
AsiaSoutheast Asia

Coronavirus: Singapore confirms three new cases, taking total number of infections to 75

  • Two of the new infections are linked to the Grace Assembly of God cluster, while the other is linked to a previous case
  • Singapore’s health ministry said 19 have recovered while five patients are in critical condition
Coronavirus Singapore
TODAY
TODAYandSCMP’s Asia desk
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Three new cases of the novel coronavirus Covid-19 have been confirmed in Singapore, while another patient has been discharged from hospital.

Two of the new cases are linked to the cluster at Grace Assembly of God, which now has 18 cases. The other new infection is linked to a previous case.

The total number of confirmed cases in Singapore is now 75, while 19 have recovered, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a media statement on Sunday.

Of the 56 confirmed cases still in hospital, most are stable or improving. Five patients are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

The ministry said that further epidemiological investigations and contact tracing made possible with the help of the Singapore Police Force had uncovered links between previously announced and the new confirmed cases.

It said Case 73 is a male Singaporean, 43, with no recent travel history to mainland China. He reported the onset of symptoms on February 9 and visited a clinic the next day. He was identified as a close contact of another case at Grace Assembly of God and served a home quarantine order. He is currently in an isolation room at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NICD).

A monitor displays a thermographic image of people passing through a gate outside an office building in the central business district of Singapore. Photo: Bloomberg

Case 74 is also linked to the Grace Assembly of God cluster. The 29-year-old male experienced symptoms on February 12 and was admitted to Alexandra Hospital on February 15, where he is currently in an isolation room.

Case 75 is a 71-year-old Singapore woman with no recent travel history to China. She is a family member of a previous case and had been under quarantine since February 7. She is in an isolation room at NICD.

Coronavirus: why did Singapore have more cases than Hong Kong?

The MOH said investigations on the infection clusters are ongoing and contact tracing is underway for the other seven locally transmitted cases to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to mainland China.

The ministry said 871 of the suspect cases have tested negative for Covid-19 and 75 have tested positive. Test results for the remaining 119 cases are pending.

“Contact tracing for the confirmed cases is ongoing. Once identified, MOH 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,” the ministry said.

The MOH has identified 2,179 close contacts. It said 2,045 are still in Singapore and 1,781 have been contacted and are being quarantined or isolated. It is still trying to contact the remaining 264 close contacts.

Read the original article at Today Online

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