SINGAPORE: A passenger who arrived in Singapore from Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday (Mar 4).

Contact tracing has begun for passengers on flight TK54 who may have had contact with the person while he or she was infectious. The flight arrived in Singapore on Tuesday.



A statement from the Ministry of Transport (MOT) also said a departing Turkish Airlines flight – TK55 – did not take off from Changi Airport at its scheduled departure time of 11.35pm on Wednesday.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Thursday that three pilots and 11 crew members who had arrived in Singapore on board the TK54 flight subsequently departed for Istanbul at 2.08am on board a ferry flight with no passengers on the plane.





The crew members had come into close contact with the infected passenger, said the CAAS spokesperson in response to media queries, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is in contact with the Turkish Embassy, which has confirmed the crew will be quarantined when they arrive in Istanbul.



MOT said it is, together with CAAS and the Changi Airport Group, in contact with and assisting the airline and passengers.

As of Wednesday, Singapore has confirmed 112 cases of COVID-19. Seventy-nine of the patients have been discharged and 33 remain in hospital, with seven in critical condition.

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