Singapore Reports 12 Covid-19 Cases On 8 Mar
Update (9 Mar, 10am): NTU has sent an email to staff and students, confirming that the 69-year-old cleaning staff was last on campus on 3 Mar, 2 days after noticing symptoms.
Image courtesy of an MS News reader
He had reported to work in the morning on 2 and 3 Mar, to clean at the NTU Innovation Centre, but only did so at the ground floor restrooms and external areas of the building.
These areas have since undergone thorough disinfection, and co-workers who came into close contact with him put under Leave of Absence (LOA).
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The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 12 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore today (8 Mar).
This brings the total case count to 150, with 9 of the new cases linking back to the new SAFRA Jurong cluster.
Among the other 3, 1 has links to a previous case, 1 is an imported case and the last one has no known links so far.
Man worked at NTU Innovation Centre before hospital admission
According to MOH, Case 141, a 69-year-old male Singaporean, noticed early symptoms on 1 Mar.
A visit to a GP on 3 Mar didn’t raise anything suspicious, until he returned the second time on 6 Mar, when the doctor conveyed him to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH).
He tested positive for Covid-19 the following afternoon, which was yesterday (7 Mar).
MOH noted that he had reported for work as a cleaning staff at Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Innovation Centre prior to hospital admission.
The man stayed at Jurong West Street 64.
With neither a recent travel history to any Covid-19 hotspots nor links to previous cases, contact tracing is under way to find the source of his infection.
1 patient from Indonesia & 1 linked to imported case from London
While Indonesia hasn’t reported new cases, an Indonesian national has ironically become 1 of the 12 new cases in Singapore.
The 64-year-old arrived in Singapore yesterday (7 Mar) and tested positive this morning (8 Mar). He is currently in an isolation ward at NCID.
An isolation ward at NCID
Source
The other lone case is a 42-year-old Singapore PR, who is a family member of Case 132.
He observed symptoms on 5 Mar, while in Thailand on a trip that lasted from 4 to 6 Mar.
He went straight to NUH after touching down at Changi Airport on the night of 6 Mar, and tested positive for Covid-19 the next afternoon.
Case 132 is a 37-year-old female PR who was in London from 23 to 27 Feb.
9 more from SAFRA Jurong cluster
Meanwhile, the new SAFRA Jurong cluster reports 9 new cases, bringing the total tally to 30, and making it the largest cluster now.
All 9 are linked to the private dinner function on 15 Feb.
4 are in isolation rooms at NTFGH while the other 5 are in isolation at NCID.
No new recoveries on 8 Mar
Sadly, there are no new recoveries on 8 Mar, meaning that the total number of discharge cases remains at 90.
Most of the 60 still in hospital are in stable condition, except for 9 who are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
MS News wishes all patients a smooth recovery.
Featured image adapted from The Heartlander Tourist.
