Bangladeshi National Who Died On 5 May Was 6th Covid-19 Patient Death Not Caused By The Virus

44-Year-Old Bangladeshi National Diagnosed With Covid-19 On 29 Apr

On Tuesday (5 May), a 44-year-old Bangladeshi national was reported to have passed away from a heart attack.

He had checked into Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) for urgent treatment for a cardiac arrest on Wednesday (29 Apr), but was diagnosed with a Covid-19 infection on the same day, reports Yahoo News.

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This confirmed Covid-19 case would represent the second death at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in 2 weeks since a 46-year-old Indian national passed away at KTPH’s stairwell.

Migrant worker found at KTPH stairwell was Covid-19 patient

On Thursday (23 Apr), a 46-year-old migrant worker had been found “motionless” at a stairwell in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH).

The Ministry of Health (MOH) later confirmed he was Covid-19 Case 8190 in their media release. The worker had been diagnosed on 19 Apr and warded at the hospital.

His official cause of death was “multiple injuries consistent with those resulting from a fall from height”, and not due to Covid-19.

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His identity was later revealed to be Mr Alagu, an Indian national who is survived by a wife and 3 daughters. Thus far, over $167,000 has been raised to support his children’s education back home.

Dormitory Covid-19 testing still ongoing

Once Singapore’s Covid-19 numbers crossed the 2,000 case threshold on 10 Apr, spikes in case counts have largely been attributed to ongoing screening within migrant worker dormitories.

Largest reported dormitory clusters include the S11 dormitory in Punggol, which may explain the initial surge in cases.

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Singapore has officially crossed the tally of 20,000 cases on 6 May.

The Straits Times reports that about 16,998 cases, or 5.3% of 323,000 migrant workers living in dormitories, have been diagnosed with Covid-19.

6 deaths due to other reasons, from confirmed Covid-19 cases

If the official cause of death isn’t linked to Covid-19 complications, cases aren’t usually included in Singapore’s list of Covid-19 casualties.

There are now 6 deaths from confirmed Covid-19 cases due to causes unrelated to infections.

According to Yahoo News, here are the reasons stated for 5 previous cases:

• 2 Indian Nationals – 32-year-old man (Coronary Artery Disease), 46-year-old man (Injuries from fall from height)
• 2 Malaysians – 40-year-old man (Heart Attack), 80-year-old man (Unstated)
• 1 Bangladeshi National – 47-year-old man (Coronary Artery Disease)

Flattening the Covid-19 curve

To prevent further casualties, however, the government has been ramping up testing efforts to ensure that everyone will get the necessary treatment needed.

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So far, efforts have proven to be effective with the curve appearing to ease slightly after a 1,426 daily case spike on 20 Apr.

We offer our sincere condolences to the loved ones of the patients we’ve lost to this pandemic. May they rest in peace.

Featured image adapted from Google Maps.