There are two new confirmed coronavirus cases in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday, bringing the total here to 45.
One of the new cases is a 37-year-old Singaporean man who works at Certis Cisco and had been on duty at Chingay, which took place on Jan 31 and Feb 1. Before developing symptoms, he had served quarantine orders on two individuals from Wuhan who had subsequently tested positive for the virus.
The other case is a two-year-old Singaporean girl who was evacuated from Wuhan on Jan 30. She did not have symptoms when she boarded the flight to Singapore. She is the fifth case among the 97 Singaporeans on that evacuation flight.
In the update, MOH said it has identified 1,026 close contacts as of noon yesterday. Of the 927 who are still in Singapore, 896 are being quarantined or isolated. Efforts are ongoing to contact the remaining 31 close contacts.
The ministry also said another patient has recovered. That brings the total number of patients who have been discharged to seven. Of the 38 remaining cases in hospital, most are stable or improving while seven are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
MOH also said it looked into reports that the coronavirus could be transmitted through aerosol.
It said: "Based on evidence available in China, an expert from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said there is currently no evidence that the virus can be transmitted through aerosol. The currently known transmission routes are via respiratory droplets and physical contact."
Clement Yong
