14 new Covid-19 cases in S'pore, highest in single day; 9 imported from overseas

SINGAPORE - Singapore has confirmed 14 new Covid-19 cases, including nine that are imported, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Sunday (March 15).

It is the highest number of new cases Singapore has reported in a single day.

Three patients are linked to previous cases, including a 28-year-old female Filipino national who teaches at MY World Preschool in Lengkok Bahru. The Singapore work pass holder, Case 221, is linked to Case 204, a 32-year-old American man who was in Japan from Feb 29 to March 8 and confirmed on Friday. 

The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) said on Sunday that the woman was last at the pre-school on March 13. The pre-school has been ordered to close temporarily from March 16 to 27, which covers the 14-day incubation period from when the teacher was last in the school.

All pupils, teachers and staff will be given a leave of absence during the closure period and the pre-school will resume programmes on March 28. MY World Preschool will conduct a thorough cleaning and disinfection of its premises and is closely monitoring its staff and pupils’ well-being, ECDA said.

Another patient, Case 214, is a 29-year-old Singaporean man who is linked to Case 208, a 26-year-old Singaporean woman who is a medical social worker at Singapore General Hospital. 

The man is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and had visited the Singapore University of Social Sciences and community services centre Youth Go! at Fajar Road prior to hospitalisation.

The two remaining patients - Cases 218 and 224 - are linked to a private dinner function at Safra Jurong’s Joy Garden restaurant held on Feb 15. The Safra Jurong cluster remains the largest locally, with 47 confirmed cases associated with it so far.

Among the imported cases confirmed on Sunday is a 48-year-old Singaporean man who was in Indonesia from March 4 to 13. The man, Case 213, reported symptoms while in Indonesia on March 8. He went to the emergency department at Sengkang General Hospital on March 13, where he is now warded in an isolation room.

Another patient, Case 216, is a 30-year-old Singaporean man who was in Germany and the Czech Republic from Feb 28 to March 6. He reported experiencing symptoms on March 9 and sought treatment at a general practitioner clinic on March 10 and March 12. 

He was referred to NCID on his second visit and later tested positive for Covid-19. The man, who stays at Bukit Batok West Avenue 6, had gone to work at SAP Asia in Pasir Panjang Road before he was hospitalised.

This brings the number of infected patients here to 226, of which 13 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. 

A total of 105 cases have fully recovered and been discharged from hospital.

On Sunday, Singapore also announced further measures to reduce importation of coronavirus infections, advising residents to defer all non-essential travel abroad to reduce their risks of contracting the virus during this coronavirus pandemic. 

The advisory, which took immediate effect, will apply for 30 days and is subject to further review.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus virus, visit here.