SINGAPORE: Singapore reported two more confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday (Feb 11), said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a daily update.

One had worked at the same location as another Bangladeshi coronavirus patient, the other is a Singapore permanent resident (PR) who lives in Johor Bahru and works at Resorts World Sentosa Casino.



This brings the number of cases in Singapore to 47, with seven in critical condition.

Two more patients - cases 17 and 36 - were discharged from hospital on Tuesday, meaning nine have now fully recovered from the virus.

Case 17 was a 47-year-old Singaporean woman who was among the Singaporeans evacuated from Wuhan on Jan 30.

Case 36 was a 38-year-old Singapore permanent resident who had attended a business meeting at Grand Hyatt Singapore, that has been linked to several cases overseas.



A total of 25 cases in Singapore are local transmissions.

Case 46

Case 46 is a 35-year-old male Singapore PR who lives in Johor Bahru and works at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) Casino. He does not have any recent travel history to China.

He reported having symptoms on Feb 5 and sought treatment at a general practitioner clinic on Feb 9. He was taken by ambulance to Tan Tock Seng Hospital on the same day and isolated. Test results confirmed he had the infection the next day on Feb 10.

Prior to admission, he had gone to work at the casino. He is currently isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

Responding to queries from CNA, RWS said that it has identified an unspecified number of employees who had recent contact with the employee and instructed them to go on 14 days of leave of absence.

RWS will work closely with MOH to monitor their condition, said a spokesperson.

"Deep cleaning, thorough disinfection and sanitisation have been carried out at all areas and touchpoints where the employee had come into contact with," said the spokesperson.

RWS did not provide details on what role the employee held at the casino as well as how many visitors or colleagues he may have had contact with.

Case 47

Case 47 is a 39-year-old male Bangladeshi worker.

He had worked at 10 Seletar Aerospace Heights, said MOH, the same location as another infected Bangladeshi worker, Singapore's 42nd case, who was confirmed as having the virus on Feb 8.

The man, who has no recent travel history to China, reported feeling ill on Feb 6 and sought treatment at a general practitioner clinic the next day. He went to NCID on Feb 10, where he was confirmed as a positive case.

Prior to being hospitalised, he had gone to work and stayed at his rental apartment at Veerasamy Road.

Bombardier, the company located at 10 Seletar Aerospace Heights, confirmed in a statement to CNA that the two workers had worked with a third-party contractor at its Singapore Service Centre expansion sites, which are at 8 Seletar Aerospace Heights and 12 Seletar Aerospace Heights. They are not employees of Bombardier.

The two men had worked on different buildings on the expansion sites and never had access to the company's existing facility, said Bombardier. No cases of the virus have been reported among employees at its service centre at 10 Seletar Aerospace Heights.

It is collaborating with the Health Ministry to ensure that the necessary health protocols are followed, it said.

"The health and safety of our employees is always a top priority at Bombardier, and out of an abundance of caution, Bombardier continues to take the necessary steps to ensure its operations and employees remain safe," said a company spokesperson.





CONTACT TRACING

As of noon on Tuesday, 608 of the suspect cases have tested negative for the novel coronavirus. Test results for the remaining 43 cases are pending.

Contact tracing for the confirmed cases is ongoing.

MOH has identified 1,124 close contacts. Of the 1,021 who are still in Singapore, 989 have been contacted and are being quarantined or isolated. Efforts are ongoing to contact the remaining 32 close contacts.

The total number of fatalities from the epidemic in China jumped past 1,000 on Tuesday after 108 new deaths, including 103 in the hard-hit Hubei province.

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

The coronavirus outbreak is expected to take a toll on the tourism sector, with the Singapore Tourism Board on Tuesday saying visitor arrivals are estimated to fall by 25 per cent to 30 per cent this year.

South Korea and Israel have told their citizens to defer travel to Singapore, while Indonesia and Taiwan have recommended precautions be taken when visiting the country.

Members of the public have voiced concern over Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in-camp training, but Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How on Tuesday said there were no plans to cancel training amid the outbreak.

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