SINGAPORE: At least 12 people from five families, including a foreign domestic helper, are among the confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Singapore so far.

Of these, six are linked to the country’s first cluster of local transmission announced by authorities earlier this week.



This includes the youngest patient in Singapore to date - a six-month-old baby boy who is the child of an infected couple.

Singapore had 28 confirmed cases as of Wednesday (Feb 5). Here’s what we know about these families:





FAMILY 1: CASES 1 AND 3



WHO: Father, 66, and son, 37, from Wuhan who arrived in Singapore with seven other travelling companions on Jan 20.

DETAILS: The 66-year-old – Singapore’s first case of the virus confirmed on Jan 23 – reported having a sore throat while on his flight to Singapore. He developed a fever the next day and began coughing.

After arriving in Singapore, the man checked in to Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort and Spa. On Jan 22, he told hotel staff that he was unwell and was taken to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), where he was isolated and diagnosed with pneumonia.



He was identified to the Ministry of Health (MOH) as a suspected case at 10pm and was tested positive the following day at 6pm. He remains in isolation at SGH.



The man’s son, who stayed with his father at the same hotel, became a confirmed case on Jan 24.

He is also currently in isolation at SGH.

Other family members travelling alongside the father and son – the wives of both men and the son’s two young children – have also come down with the infectious virus.



They were among Malaysia’s first few confirmed cases after they left Singapore for Johor Bahru at about 12pm on Jan 23, before the 66-year-old man was confirmed as infected with the virus later that day.

FAMILY 2: CASES 8 AND 9

WHO: A married couple – both 56-year-old Chinese nationals from Wuhan – who arrived in Singapore together on Jan 19.

DETAILS: Both cases did not show symptoms during their flight to Singapore. They only developed symptoms on Jan 24 and the couple took a taxi to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) three days later.

They were classified as suspect cases and placed in isolation at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). Tests confirmed the couple as having the coronavirus on Jan 28 and Jan 29.

Before that, the couple had stayed with their family at their home at Lorong Lew Lian in Upper Serangoon.

FAMILY 3: CASES 13 AND 26

WHO: Mother, 73, and daughter, 42, from Wuhan who arrived in Singapore on Jan 21.

DETAILS: The 73-year-old woman was a close contact of the country’s second confirmed case – a 53-year-old woman from Wuhan who also arrived in Singapore on Jan 21.



The elderly woman was located on Jan 28 after MOH made multiple attempts to contact her, and she reported having developed symptoms on the same day.

She was then taken to NCID, where she was isolated. She was confirmed as the 13th infected case on Jan 30.

The woman had stayed at ParkRoyal Collection Pickering and Oasia Hotel Downtown, and visited Changi Airport and Jewel. She travelled by taxi and private transport.

Her daughter was confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus on Feb 4.



The 42-year-old had been taken by ambulance to NCID on the same day as her mother on Jan 28 after developing symptoms. She remains warded in an isolation room at NCID.

FAMILY 4: CASES 24 AND 25

WHO: A married couple with no recent travel history to China. The wife is a 32-year-old female Singapore resident and her husband, 40, is a Singapore citizen. They are among the locally-transmitted cases linked to a Chinese tour group that visited health products shop Yong Thai Hang in Cavan Road.



DETAILS: The 32-year-old works as a tour guide and has brought groups of tourists to Yong Thai Hang.

She had gone to NCID on Feb 3 with no symptoms – although she “subsequently informed NCID on (Tuesday) night that she had developed a fever on Jan 30”, according to MOH – and was confirmed positive on Feb 4 at about 2pm.

Prior to admission to NCID, the tour guide stayed at her home at Buangkok Green and worked at Jalan Besar. She had visited Hougang Polyclinic on Jan 30 and went to a supermarket near her home.



Her husband was also tested positive on Feb 4.

The 40-year-old man had developed a fever on Jan 24. He visited the same polyclinic as his wife on Jan 30, and self-presented at NCID four days later where he was immediately isolated.

Prior to being admitted, the man had stayed at home. He worked at Diamond Industries Jewellery Company at Harbour Drive, which the tour group from China had visited as well.

He had also visited Pasir Panjang Hawker Centre and travelled by public transport.

Both are currently warded in isolation rooms at NCID.

FAMILY 5: CASES 19, 21, 27 AND 28

WHO: A family of three – a 28-year-old female Singapore resident, a 45-year-old male Singapore citizen and a six-month-old baby boy – and their foreign domestic helper who are all linked to the first local transmission cluster. All four do not have recent travel history to China.

DETAILS: The 28-year-old – case 19 – works as a salesperson at Yong Thai Hang and reported having a sore throat and fever on Jan 29. She sought treatment at a GP clinic on the same day.

The following day, she went to TTSH’s emergency department and was discharged after a chest X-ray came back negative for pneumonia. She did not leave her home at Jalan Bukit Merah from Jan 31 to Feb 2.

On Feb 3, she was admitted to SGH and tested positive for the novel coronavirus on the same day. She is currently warded in an isolation room at SGH.

Her husband and son – cases 27 and 28 – were announced to have come down with the novel coronavirus on Feb 5.

The former is currently warded at the NCID, while their six-month-old baby boy is now in an isolation room at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Both are in stable condition.

In an update on Feb 6, MOH said that the husband had developed symptoms on Feb 1 and visited a GP clinic the next day. He was subsequently isolated at the NCID.

Prior to hospital admission, he stayed at his home at Jalan Bukit Merah and worked as a private hire driver, the health ministry said.

He also visited Tiong Bahru Plaza, Tiong Bahru Market and Beo Crescent Market and Food Centre.



In response to media queries, MOH said the six-month-old baby boy was not in any infant care facility prior to hospital admission, and was cared for at home.



The family’s foreign domestic helper has also come down with the virus.

The 44-year-old Indonesian woman – case 21 – reported onset of symptoms on Feb 2 and did not leave her place of residence at Jalan Bukit Merah. She was admitted to SGH on Feb 3 and tested positive the next day.

Separately, a colleague of the 28-year-old salesperson is also warded with the virus at NCID.

View of Yong Thai Hang 24 Cavan Road. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)

MORE ABOUT TOUR GROUP THAT VISITED YONG THAI HANG



There are now seven people infected by the coronavirus in Singapore's first cluster of local transmission, which is linked to a Chinese tour group that visited Yong Thai Hang in Cavan Road last month.

The shop is a complementary health products shop that primarily serves Chinese tourists, MOH said.

The tour group of 20 had arrived in Singapore on Jan 22 and left for Malaysia on Jan 24. They later came back to Singapore at about 3am on Jan 27, before leaving the country at about 6am.

Two among the tour group have tested positive for the virus, MOH said on Feb 5 citing confirmation from Chinese health authorities.

Besides Yong Thai Hang and Diamond Industries Jewellery Company, the group also visited various spots in Singapore, such as Meeting You Restaurant in Hamilton Road, Royal Dragon Restaurant in Havelock Road, T Galleria by DFS in Scotts Road and the D’Resort @ Downtown East in Pasir Ris.



MOH said it has been almost 14 days since the tourists visited these places. It has reached out to 142 contacts, of which “all but one are well”.



“The person has been isolated as a suspect case and test results are pending,” authorities said.

Contact tracing was also conducted for the crew and passengers of the departing flight on Jan 27. Five are in Singapore and have been quarantined.



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