SINGAPORE: No new COVID-19 cases were reported in Singapore as of noon on Sunday (Feb 23), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a daily update, leaving the total number of cases in the country at 89.

This is the first time no new cases have been reported in Singapore since Feb 3.



MOH also said that two more COVID-19 patients were discharged, including a taxi driver.

In all, 51 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital.

Of the 38 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving. Five are in critical condition.



UPDATE ON CASE 89

MOH also provided more information about a previously confirmed case.

Case 89 - a 41 year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident diagnosed with COVID-19 on Saturday morning - had gone to work at Affinity Equity Partners (8 Temasek Boulevard) and visited Bishan Community Club before he was admitted to hospital.

He lives at Serangoon Avenue 3. He has no recent travel history to China.

He reported onset of symptoms on Feb 3 and had sought treatment at two general practitioner (GP) clinics on Feb 3, Feb 7, Feb 10, Feb 17 and Feb 21.

He was referred to National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Feb 21 and subsequent test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on Feb 22 morning.

He is currently warded in an isolation room at NCID.

2 MORE PATIENTS DISCHARGED

MOH said that Cases 9 and 64 were discharged on Sunday.

Case 64 is a 50-year-old Singaporean man taxi driver with no recent travel history to China.

He reported onset of symptoms on Feb 3 and went to two GP clinics on Feb 5, Feb 7, Feb 10 and Feb 13.

He was referred to the emergency department at NUH on Feb 13 and was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on Feb 14 morning.

Case 9 is a Chinese man from Wuhan who arrived with his wife in Singapore on Jan 19.

Neither had showed symptoms during their flight, but developed symptoms on Jan 24.

The woman tested positive for the virus on Jan 28, and the man a day later.

Investigations later showed that both of them had visited The Life Church and Missions Singapore in Paya Lebar, which has since been identified as a possible cluster.

The woman was discharged on Feb 18.

As Feb 23, MOH has identified 2,812 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 908 are currently quarantined, and 1,904 have completed their quarantine.

China on Sunday reported another fall in new coronavirus infections outside of its epicenter. The 648 new infections were higher than a day earlier but only 18 were outside of Hubei province, the lowest number outside of the epicentre since authorities started publishing data a month ago.

In total, China has reported 76,936 cases and 2,442 deaths as of Sunday.

Originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, COVID-19 has spread to more than 30 countries out, including Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

South Korea reported its second death on Saturday from the virus. The country's national infection toll now stands at 556.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday said the country would raise its alert level to the “highest” in the face of the spike in infections. The national toll is now the second-highest outside of China, apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

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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