IT engineer with bank is sole new community case

An IT engineer who works at Deutsche Bank was the sole Covid-19 community case announced yesterday.

He developed a runny nose on March 1 and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner on the same day, but declined to be tested for Covid-19, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

The work pass holder, who has been working from home since his arrival from India in January, was given five days of medical leave and advised to return for a test if he did not recover.

He was found to have the coronavirus on Thursday, when he took a Covid-19 pre-departure test in preparation for his trip to India.

His test result came back positive on the same day, and he was conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases in an ambulance.

The IT engineer had arrived from India on Jan 16 and se-rved a stay-home notice (SHN) at a dedicated facility until Jan 30. His Covid-19 test taken on Jan 29 during the SHN was negative.

The Indian national's serological test result is positive, which indicates a likely past infection.

"Those who are advised by their doctor to be tested for Covid-19 should do so, even if they are showing mild symptoms," MOH said.

There were also nine imported cases confirmed by MOH yes-terday, taking Singapore's total to 60,080.

They tested positive while serving SHN after their arrival in Singapore, said the ministry.

They came from several countries including Indonesia, Switzerland and the Philippines.

Sengkang Community Club and Toast Box at Bugis Junction are among places visited by Covid-19 patients while they were still infectious, said MOH.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained stable at three cases per week in the past two weeks.

The number of unlinked cases in the community increased to three in the past week, from two in the week before.

With 11 cases discharged yesterday, 59,935 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 21 patients remain in hospital, including one in critical condition in the intensive care unit, while 80 are recuperating in community facilities.

Singapore has had 29 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive died of other causes.

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Update on cases

New cases: 10

Imported: 9 (1 student's pass holder, 2 work pass holders, 4 work permit holders, 2 short-term visit pass holders)

In community: 1 (1 work pass holder)

In dormitories: 0

New community cases in the past week: 3 (3 unlinked cases)

Active cases: 101

In hospitals: 21 (1 in ICU)

In community facilities: 80

Deaths: 29 Patients with Covid-19 who died from other causes: 15

Total discharged: 59,935 Discharged yesterday: 11

TOTAL CASES: 60,080