SINGAPORE: Four more cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Sunday (Mar 1), bringing the total number of cases in the country to 106.



Three of the new cases are linked to the cluster at Wizlearn Technologies in Science Park. The other case is a Japanese national who is a Singapore work pass holder.





Another two patients have been discharged, MOH said, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 74. The two cases - 54 and 60 - work at the Tanglin branch of the Grace Assembly of God church.

Of the 32 confirmed patients who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving, said the health ministry. Seven are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.





FOUR NEW CASES, THREE LINKED TO SCIENCE PARK CLUSTER

Of the four new cases, three - 103, 104 and 105 - are linked to the cluster at Wizlearn Technologies. All three have no recent travel history to China, Daegu or Cheongdo.

CASE 103

Case 103 is a 37-year-old Singaporean woman who had been in Batam from Feb 21 to Feb 23. She is a family member of case 93, and is linked to case 101.

She was issued a home quarantine order on Feb 26 after being identified as a close contact of case 93. She had reported not having any recent illness, MOH said.

On Feb 29, she revealed that she had onset of symptoms on Feb 20, and had sought treatment at a general practitioner (GP) clinic on Feb 25.

She was immediately taken to National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) in an ambulance and was isolated. Her diagnosis was confirmed on Sunday morning.

Prior to hospital admission, she had gone to work at Asia Asset Recovery at 2019 Bukit Batok Industrial Park A. She lives at Bukit Batok Street 31.



CASE 104

Case 104 is a 25-year-old Myanmar national who is a maid employed by case 103. She too had been in Batam from Feb 21 to Feb 23.

As she had been identified as a close contact of Case 93 and had reported as not having any recent illness, she was issued a home quarantine order on Feb 26.

On Feb 29, she revealed that she had onset of symptoms on Feb 23. She was immediately taken to NCID in an ambulance, and was tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday morning.

Prior to hospital admission, she had mostly stayed at home at Bukit Batok Street 31.

CASE 105

Case 105 is a 49-year-old Singaporean man who was issued a home quarantine order on Feb 27 after being linked to the cluster at Wizlearn Technologies and had reported as not having any recent illness.

On Feb 29, he revealed that he had onset of symptoms on Feb 26, and had sought treatment at a GP clinic on the same day. He was immediately taken to NCID in an ambulance and he tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday morning.

Prior to hospital admission, he had attended a business meeting at Toa Payoh Hub at 490 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh with Case 95. He lives at Upper Bukit Timah Road.

JAPANESE NATIONAL

Case 106 is a 54-year-old Japanese man who is a Singapore work pass holder, and has no recent travel history to China, Daegu and Cheongdo.

He was confirmed on Sunday morning to be infected with the coronavirus, and is currently warded in an isolation room at NCID.

"Contact tracing is underway for the remaining case to establish any links to previous cases," MOH said.



UPDATES ON TWO PREVIOUS CASES

MOH also provided updates for two previous cases linked to the Wizlearn Technologies clusters.

Case 101, announced on Saturday, is a 61-year-old Singaporean man who has no recent travel history to China, Daegu and Cheongdo, but had been in Batam from Feb 21 to Feb 23.

He is linked to Case 103 and is the employer of case 102.

Case 101 reported onset of symptoms on Feb 25 and went to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) on Feb 28 with case 102, a Filipino maid.

He was tested positive for the infection on Saturday morning.



Prior to hospital admission, he had gone to work at Asia Asset Recovery and visited the Eye Clinic at NTFGH with Case 102.

He lives at Bukit Batok Street 24.



Case 102 is a 41-year-old Filipino woman who is a Singapore work pass holder, and has no recent travel history to China, Daegu and Cheongdo.

She too reported onset of symptoms on Feb 25 and sought treatment at a GP clinic on Feb 27. A day later, she went to NTFGH with her employer, case 101. She tested positive for the infection on Saturday morning.

As of noon on Sunday, MOH has identified 3,133 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 367 are currently quarantined, and 2,766 have completed their quarantine.



The coronavirus outbreak has affected the economy, with Singapore stocks tumbling on Friday to a 15-month low, as global markets sold off on the rising possibility that the coronavirus outbreak would become a pandemic.



Companies including state investor Temasek is freezing staff pay, while property developer CapitaLand and Singapore Airlines will cut the pay of senior employees by up to 15 per cent.

Construction firms too are starting to feel the strain from labour shortages and supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

A S$4 billion package to help workers and companies weather near-term economic uncertainties were among measures proposed in this year's Budget, which are calibrated "to put sufficient purchasing power back into the economy, while injecting a boost of confidence", Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said in Parliament on Friday.



On Sunday, China reported 573 new infections, bringing the total number of cases in mainland China to 79,824.



In Thailand, a 35-year-old man became the first person to die after being diagnosed with COVID-19 and dengue.

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