SINGAPORE: Twelve new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Singapore on Wednesday (Mar 11), including eight imported cases and one linked to the SAFRA Jurong cluster.



The latest confirmed cases bring Singapore's total to 178, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a daily update.





Among the new imported cases, three are Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) servicemen.

A total of four servicemen, who were on overseas duty in Marseille for three weeks, have contracted the virus.



The Ministry of Defence said that two other RSAF servicemen who were with them have also returned to Singapore and are currently well. The two have been on home quarantine since their return.



Another imported case involves a Filipino Work Pass holder who had travelled to the Philippines to visit a relative with pneumonia. His wife, a staff nurse at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH), has also tested positive.

There are now 40 cases in the SAFRA Jurong cluster - the biggest COVID-19 cluster announced in Singapore since the outbreak began.



MOH added that three earlier cases (142, 162 and 163) are now linked to the boulder+ Gym in Kallang.



Three more patients have fully recovered and have been discharged from hospital as of Wednesday, bringing the total number of discharged patients to 96, said MOH. The discharged patients are cases 92, 106 and 148.

Most of the 82 remaining in hospital are in stable condition or improving. Nine are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.



NEW CASES



Cases 167 and 178

Case 178, an imported case, is a 37-year-old Filipino national who is a Singapore Work Pass holder.

He had been in the Philippines from Feb 11 to Feb 19, and again from Feb 23 to Mar 2, to visit a relative with pneumonia who has since died.

He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on Mar 11 morning, and is currently warded in an isolation room at NTFGH.

He is the husband of Case 167 - a 35-year-old Filipino woman who is a staff nurse at NTFGH. She is currently warded in an isolation room at the hospital.

She had been in the Philippines from Feb 11 to Feb 17. After returning from the Philippines, she was at work from Feb 18, was well and complied with daily temperature-taking and monitoring of health, said NTFGH.

While at work, she did not attend to any confirmed COVID-19 patients in the last 14 days, the hospital added.



NTFGH said that the nurse developed a cough on Mar 8, and sought treatment at the staff clinic the next morning. She then stayed at home until her test results were confirmed and was hospitalised.

She lives at Jurong East Street 21.



Case 168

Case 168 is a 47-year-old Singaporean man with no recent travel history to affected countries and regions.

He reported onset of symptoms on Mar 1 and sought treatment at two GP clinics on Mar 2, Mar 5 and Mar 8. He was referred to Sengkang Hospital (SKH) emergency department on Mar 8.



The case was diagnosed with the coronavirus on Mar 10 and is currently warded at SKH.

Prior to admission he mostly stayed at home at Rivervale Street.

Case 169



The case is a 40-year-old Singaporean RSAF serviceman.

He is a contact of cases 165, 173 and 175, and is one of the imported cases who had been in France on official duty. He was in France from Feb 15 to Mar 7.



The man reported onset of symptoms on Mar 9 and went to the emergency department of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) on Mar 10. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 that afternoon.



MOH said the man did not go to work upon returning to Singapore.

Prior to hospital admission, he had gone to the Health Promotion Board for an unrelated matter. He lives at Yishun Street 81.

Case 170



The case is a 56-year-old Indonesian woman, believed to be an imported case.



She reported onset of symptoms while in Indonesia on Mar 6. She arrived in Singapore on Mar 9 and went to the Singapore General Hospital. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Mar 10 afternoon.

She is a family member of case 152.

Case 171



Case 171 is a 27-year-old Singaporean man who is believed to be an imported case.

He was in France from Feb 25 to Mar 1 and Spain from Mar 1 to Mar 6.

He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

Case 172

The case is a 42-year-old Filipino national, who was in the Philippines from Feb 27 to Mar 2.

The woman, a Singapore Work Pass holder, was confirmed to have COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at NCID.

Case 173

Case 173 is 31 years old and is among the RSAF servicemen who had been in France on official duty. The other cases are 165, 169 and 175.

He was in France from Feb 15 to Mar 7, and did not go to work upon his return to Singapore.

He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at NCID.

Case 174

The case is a 67-year-old Singaporean woman with no recent travel history to the affected countries and regions.

She is linked to the SAFRA Jurong cluster involving a dinner function at Joy Garden Restaurant on Feb 15.

She was confirmed to have COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at NCID.



Case 175



The case is a 44-year-old Singaporean man, a RSAF servicemen who is a contact of cases 165, 169 and 173, who had all been in France on official duty.



The case was in France from Feb 15 to Mar 7. He did not go to work upon returning to Singapore.

He is warded at NCID.

Case 176

The case is a 37-year-old British national who was in Japan from Feb 24 to Mar 4 and the United Kingdom from Mar 4 to Mar 8.

She is an imported case.

She was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at NCID.

Case 177



The case is a 26-year-old Singaporean man, also said to be an imported case.



He was in the United States from Feb 14 to Feb 24, the UK from Feb 28 to Mar 1 and France from Mar 2 to Mar 7.

He was confirmed to have COVID-19 on the morning of Mar 11 and is warded at NCID.

UPDATES ON PREVIOUS CASES



MOH also gave more information about previously confirmed cases.

Case 164

The case is a 57-year-old Singapore permanent resident who was in Malaysia from Feb 20 to Feb 23.

She is a close contact of case 134 and is linked to the SAFRA Jurong cluster.

She reported onset of symptoms on Mar 8 and sought treatment at a GP clinic on Mar 8 and Mar 9. She was taken to NCID by ambulance on Mar 9 and diagnosed with COVID-19 the next morning.

Before being admitted to NCID, the woman mostly stayed at home at Jurong West Street 93.

Case 165

The 30-year-old Singaporean is among the four RSAF servicemen who had been in France on official duty.

He was in France from Feb 15 to Mar 7, and did not go to work after returning to Singapore.

He reported onset of symptoms on Mar 9 and went to NCID the same day. He was diagnosed with the coronavirus on the morning of Mar 10.

He lives at Jalan Mulia.

Case 166

The case is a 55-year-old Singaporean woman who was in Malaysia on Mar 3 and Mar 7.

She is a close contact of case 134 and is linked to the SAFRA Jurong cluster.

She reported onset of symptoms on Mar 4 and sought treatment at a GP clinic that day and later on Mar 9, when she went to the emergency department of NTFGH.

She was diagnosed on Mar 10 and is warded at NTFGH.

Prior to her hospital admission she had gone to work at Samwoh Corporation (25E Sungei Kadut Street 1). She lives at Bukit Panjang Road.

ADDITIONAL SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES BEING CONSIDERED

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong on Tuesday said Singapore has to shift its approach towards containing COVID-19 within the country, as the virus spreads worldwide and border controls become less relevant and effective in the future.

“We will look at the whole range of social distancing measures,” he said.

The Ministry of Health also announced a two-week suspension of senior-centric activities by government agencies.

These include activities held at community clubs (CCs), residents' committees (RCs), senior activity centres, active aging hubs, CREST centres and ActiveSG sport centres.

Measures for large-scale events may also be tightened and Mr Wong acknowledged that religious services may be affected if the attendee threshold is lowered to 500.

When asked if the upcoming March holidays will be affected, Mr Wong said there are no plans to extend school holidays, but he also did not rule out school closures in the future.

"If there are social distancing measures we put in place that will impact Singaporeans, we will provide lead time. So certainly, school closures is one thing that impacts many people. We will have to provide lead time. We can’t just do it overnight.”

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