(Editor's note on Feb. 1, 11:55am: the article was edited for factual accuracy. The two confirmed cases are the IA's in-laws, not his parents.)

As of Jan. 31, Singapore has confirmed 16 cases of the new coronavirus infection.

Some of these infected visitors were reported to have been staying with their family in Singapore after returning from Wuhan.

Of those, a 56-year-old married couple that was found positive for the virus on Jan. 30 is believed to be the in-laws of an instructional assistant (IA) of the Singapore American School (SAS), according to the Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao.

The instructional assistant has been quarantined at home

In a letter addressed to the SAS community, the superintendent, Tom Boasberg, wrote that the school has learnt on Jan. 30 night that two adults tested positive for the coronavirus.

They were father-in-law and mother-in-law of one of their elementary school IAs, who arrived on Jan. 19 from Hubei province. The IA did not travel to Hubei province.

The letter said that the IA assists with the Chinese language classes and was in the classrooms from Jan. 20 and Jan. 21.

The IA also performed in the Chinese New Year staff show on Jan. 22, and there were no classes for the students on Jan. 23.

The IA did not come to school this week because of the school's directive that forbids anyone with a visiting relative from Hubei to come to school.

With the in-laws being diagnosed yesterday, the IA is now on mandatory home quarantine, the letter added.

The IA is currently not showing any symptoms but will be quarantined for another 14 days.

Unlikely that the virus has spread to third parties

In the letter, Boasberg also explained why it is unlikely for the IA to be infected or spreading virus when he was at school.

He said that the medical advisors consulted assured that it is "unlikely" that the IA's in-laws were infectious at the time when the IA was in school and it is "even more unlikely" that the IA could pass the virus to anyone else at that point in time.

The IA is currently not showing any symptoms and his in-laws are in stable conditions at the National Centre of Infectious Diseases.

Boasberg also said that the medical advisors also said that it is "extremely unlikely" for the virus to survive beyond several days outside the body.

Therefore, the risk of transmission through physical spaces in the classrooms is "extremely low".

Furthermore, given the school's directive, the IA has not been in the classrooms for the past nine days.

Precautions

Nonetheless, the school has taken extra precautionary measures to disinfect any suspected touchpoints on campus before the students return to those spaces.

SAS also urges parents to check their child's temperature daily and to look out for possible symptoms among their family members.

Top photo via Google Maps