SINGAPORE: Four new cases of the novel coronavirus in Singapore – including a six-month-old baby – were confirmed on Wednesday (Feb 5).

Three of the four new cases are linked to the local transmission cluster announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday. The fourth case is linked to a patient confirmed in January.



The four patients are in stable condition, MOH said. Wednesday's announcement brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 28.

This is what we know about cases 25, 26, 27 and 28:



Cases 25, 27 and 28 are part of a local cluster of transmission involving cases 19, 20, 21 and 24, which can be traced to a Chinese tour group.

The tour group from Guangxi comprised 20 tourists who had visited Singapore last month.

Two travellers from that group have tested positive for the coronavirus, Chinese health authorities confirmed.

During their time in Singapore, they visited at least six places in Singapore, including Yong Thai Hang, a health product shop.

CASES 27 AND 28

Cases 27 and 28 are family members of case 19 – a 28-year-old Singapore permanent resident who works as a salesperson at Yong Thai Hang.

All three do not have recent travel history to China.

The salesperson was tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday and is warded at Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

Case 27 is her husband, a 45-year-old Singaporean who tested positive for the virus on Wednesday at about 2pm. He is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

He developed symptoms on Feb 1 and visited a general practitioner clinic the next day. He was subsequently isolated at NCID on Feb 4.

Prior to hospital admission, he stayed at his home at Jalan Bukit Merah and worked as a private hire driver. He indicated that he had visited Tiong Bahru Plaza, Tiong Bahru Market and Beo Crescent Market and Food Centre.

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



Case 28 is the couple’s six-month-old son. He also tested positive on Wednesday at about 2pm, and is currently warded in an isolation room at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

MOH said in an update on Thursday that the child was not in any infant care facility and was cared for at home, prior to being admitted to the hospital.



The family’s foreign domestic worker (case 21), an Indonesian national with no recent travel history to China, is also warded with the virus at SGH.

Case 20, a colleague of Case 19 at Yong Thai Hang, was admitted to NCID on Monday and tested positive.

CASE 25

Case 25 is the husband of case 24, a 32-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a tourist guide and brought visitors to Yong Thai Hang.

She had gone to NCID on Monday and was confirmed positive on Tuesday at about 2pm.

“While she had previously reported that she was asymptomatic when she went to NCID, she subsequently informed NCID on (Tuesday) night that she had developed a fever on Jan 30,” MOH said.

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

Her husband - case 25 - is a 40-year-old Singaporean who developed a fever on Jan 24. He visited the same polyclinic as his wife on Jan 30, and self-presented at NCID on Monday, where he was immediately isolated.

He was tested positive on Tuesday, at about 8pm.

Prior to being admitted, case 25 had stayed at home. He worked at Diamond Industries Jewellery Company at Harbour Drive, which the tour group from Guangxi had visited as well.

He had also visited Pasir Panjang Hawker Centre and 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

Case 26 - a 42-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan - is the daughter of a previously confirmed case, case 13. They arrived in Singapore from Wuhan on Jan 21.

She was conveyed by ambulance to NCID on the same day as her 73-year-old mother on Jan 28 after developing symptoms.

Subsequent test results confirmed on Tuesday that she was infected with the coronavirus.

The elderly woman was a close contact of the second confirmed case, who also arrived in Singapore on Jan 21.

File photo of the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. (Photo: Rauf Khan)

OTHER PLACES THE TOUR GROUP VISITED

The tour group of 20 had arrived in Singapore on Jan 22 and left for Malaysia on Jan 24.

On Jan 27, the group came back to Singapore at about 3am and they left the country at about 6am, MOH said.

Besides Yong Thai Hang and Diamond Industries Jewellery Company, the group also visited:

Meeting You Restaurant at 14 Hamilton Road

Royal Dragon Restaurant at 2 Havelock Road

T Galleria by DFS at 25 Scotts Road

D’Resort @ Downtown East at 1 Pasir Ris Close

“It has been almost 14 days since the tourists visited these places,” MOH said.

The ministry has reached out to 142 contacts, of which all but one are well. The person has been isolated as a suspect case and test results are pending.

Contact tracing was also conducted for the crew and passengers of the departing flight on Jan 27. Five are in Singapore and have been quarantined.

As of 11.59pm last Saturday, all new visitors with recent travel history to mainland China will not be allowed to enter Singapore. These visitors will also not be allowed to transit in Singapore.

Those with Chinese passports, with the exception of Singapore permanent residents (PRs) and long-term pass holders, will also not be allowed to enter Singapore.

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