SINGAPORE: Singapore reported three more confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday (Feb 22) said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a daily update, adding that two more were also discharged.

This brings the number of cases in the country to 89.





The recovered patients are a 28-year-old mother (Case 19) and her six-month-old baby (Case 28). They were both from the Yong Thai Hang medical products shop cluster.

So far 49 people have recovered from the virus in Singapore. A total of 40 confirmed cases are still in hospital, with five in critical condition.

The latest confirmed cases include one from the cluster at Grace Assembly of God, and one was among the group of Singaporeans who were evacuated from Wuhan on Feb 9.





For the third case, MOH said that contact tracing is under way to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to China.

LATEST CONFIRMED CASES



According to MOH, Case 87 is a 32 year-old male Singaporean who was evacuated from Wuhan on Feb 9. He did not show symptoms when he boarded his flight, but was put under quarantine upon landing in Singapore.

He was confirmed to have the virus on Feb 21 and is currently warded at an isolation room at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

He is linked to Case 76, a one-year-old baby who was also evacuated from the epicentre of the outbreak.

The second case confirmed on Saturday, Case 88, is a 30 year-old female Singaporean with no recent travel history to China. Symptoms developed for her on Feb 16 and she visited a clinic the next day.

As she was identified as a contact of Case 66, a 28-year-old Singaporean man linked to the cluster at Grace Assembly of God, she was referred to NCID on Feb 21. She was confirmed to have the virus on the same day.



Prior to hospital admission, she had mostly stayed at her home at Hougang Street 91.



Case 89 is a 41 year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who has no recent travel history to China.

He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on Saturday morning, and is currently warded in an isolation room at NCID.



As of noon on Saturday, MOH has identified 2,734 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 1,101 are currently quarantined, and 1,633 have completed their quarantine.



Originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, COVID-19 has killed more than 2,300 people and infected more than 75,000, mostly in mainland China.

It has spread to more than 25 countries, including Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

South Korea reported its second death on Saturday from the virus, as the number of new cases rose by 229, bringing the nationwide total to 433.



On Saturday as well, Japan confirmed four more infections.

Outside mainland China, 14 people have died from the disease. These include passengers who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, and residents in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, the Philippines and Iran.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was "very impressed" with Singapore's response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

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

The country has also set aside S$800 million in Budget 2020 to support frontline agencies in their efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, with the bulk allocated to the Ministry of Health.

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