Sri Lankan inmate with Covid-19 was jailed for overstaying, hospitalised for dengue

The Sri Lankan prison inmate went for a medical review at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital after his sentence ended. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - The Sri Lankan prison inmate who was the sole community case on Monday (Aug 3) had served a four-week jail sentence for overstaying in Singapore without a valid pass and was awaiting repatriation when he tested positive for Covid-19.

He was also admitted to Changi General Hospital during his jail term for dengue and went for a related medical review at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital after his sentence ended.

This is according to replies by the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Tuesday night regarding queries from The Straits Times on the 26-year-old inmate.

Noting that he is currently well, they said that the man had undergone at least three swab tests during his stay at Changi Prison Complex and had had his temperature taken three times a day while he was in ICA's custody.

It is unclear where he was infected with the coronavirus, but he has been classified by the Ministry of Health as a local community case.

The man arrived in Singapore on Jan 2 on a short-term visit pass and was arrested by ICA on June 30 for being in the country without a valid pass, said SPS and ICA.

He was then remanded at Changi Prison Complex before being sentenced on July 6 to four weeks' imprisonment. According to SPS' procedure for newly admitted inmates, he was segregated from the general prison population for 14 days in an isolation cell with others who were admitted on the same day as he was.

He tested negative for his entry coronavirus swab test on July 2 and was serving his mandatory segregation when he was taken to Changi General Hospital on July 8 after reporting sick. He was diagnosed with dengue at the hospital.

After being discharged from hospital and returned to Changi Prison on July 13, he remained in cohort segregation until testing negative again for his exit swab test for Covid-19 on July 22.

He was then released into ICA's custody on July 27 for repatriation to Sri Lanka.

A day later on July 28, however, he was allowed to go for a medical review at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for his previous dengue hospitalisation.

With no flights back to Sri Lanka available, he was returned to SPS' custody on July 30, which meant he had to once more be put through the 14-day cohort segregation and have swab tests done.

He tested positive on Sunday.

SPS and ICA said all areas the patient has been to have been thoroughly disinfected in accordance with NEA's guidelines. An SPS officer, five ICA officers and five auxiliary police officers under ICA have been issued quarantine orders.

The two other inmates who were admitted on July 30 with the Sri Lankan patient are being closely monitored and kept separate from the rest of the prison population.

The two tested negative for Covid-19 and will undergo another swab test at the end of their current isolation period for being close contacts of the patient.

The Sri Lankan man is the sixth case to be linked to prisons to date. Four inmates and one staff nurse had before this been confirmed to have contracted the virus.

This latest case is unrelated to the five cases before, SPS and ICA said, adding that the five earlier cases have fully recovered.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.