SINGAPORE: Five more COVID-19 patients in Singapore have been discharged from hospital, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a daily update on Monday (Feb 17).

Cases 14, 15, 31, 48 and 65 were allowed to leave hospital after making a full recovery, bringing the total number of discharged patients to 24.



Two new COVID-19 cases were also reported on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Singapore to 77.

Case 76 is a one-year-old Singaporean who was among the group evacuated from Wuhan on Feb 9.

The toddler was without symptoms when he boarded the flight back to Singapore. He was put under quarantine upon landing in Singapore, and was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on Sunday afternoon.



He is currently warded in an isolation room at KK Women's and Children's Hospital, said MOH.



"All Singaporeans evacuated from Wuhan were tested for COVID-19 as an added precaution," MOH said.

Case 77 is a 35-year-old Singaporean man who has no recent travel history to China. He is a close contact of Case 50, a 62-year-old Singaporean who works at DBS.

The 35-year-old was tested positive for the infection on Monday morning and is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).



Of the 53 cases still in hospital, most are "stable or improving", MOH said. Four patients are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.



As of noon on Monday, the health ministry has identified 2,358 close contacts. Of these, 1,081 are currently quarantined and 1,277 have completed their quarantine.

A total of 937 suspect cases have tested negative for COVID-19, while test results for the remaining 103 cases are pending.

Singapore raised its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level to Orange on Feb 7, prompting additional precautionary measures.

Earlier on Monday, MOH announced a new Stay-Home Notice for Singapore residents and long-term pass holders with recent travel history to mainland China outside the Hubei province.

From Tuesday, such travellers will be required to stay home at all times during their 14-day leave period. This is stricter than the Leave of Absence measure currently in place, which allows them to leave their homes briefly, for example for meals or to buy household supplies.

COVID-19 has killed more than 1,700 and infected more than 70,500 in mainland China. It has spread to more than 25 countries, including Singapore, Japan and Thailand.

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