DBS says second employee infected with Covid-19, works at satellite office

ANOTHER staff of DBS has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), the bank said in response to The Business Times’ (BT) queries on Tuesday.

On Monday evening, the Ministry of Health (MOH) had announced two more cases in Singapore, one of them being Case 77, a 35-year-old Singaporean man with no recent travel history to China.

MOH identified Case 77 as a contact of Case 50, the 62-year-old male DBS employee who works at Tower 3 of Marina Bay Financial Centre.

This time around, the latest patient is based in one of the bank’s satellite offices, a DBS spokesman told BT on Tuesday, without disclosing the location.

“This satellite office has been deep cleaned as per MOH and National Environmental Agency guidelines,” the spokesman added.

Case 77 is understood to be a staff at DBS’s Ngee Ann City office on Orchard Road, according to a report by Today.

DBS Treasures, which offers wealth management services for clients with investible assets of S$350,000 and above, has a branch on the fifth storey of the property.

In a notice issued to tenants on Monday, Ngee Ann City’s management said there was one confirmed case in the Tower A office building, according to a Today’s report. The building security was informed of the case at noon on Monday.

The affected office space and floor in Tower A have been cordoned off, and common areas such as lifts and toilets are being deep-cleaned and disinfected.

The DBS spokesman said the bank has a framework for contact tracing, which is done through a mix of physical interviews and data analytics. “Through this, we are able to contact-trace up to three degrees of separation.”

Case 77 was a first-degree contact, which means he was “in close contact” with the first DBS employee infected, Case 50, the spokesman added.

The latest patient had been placed under quarantine since last week. He tested positive for the virus on Monday morning, and is now warded in an isolation room in the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, MOH said.

“We are rendering every support to him and his family during this period. We have also identified those who were in close contact with him, and are taking the same precautions as we did with the first case,” DBS’s spokesman said.

“The health and well-being of our people and customers is a top priority, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely and act in their best interests.”

Affected DBS employees have been receiving support from the bank, such as having basic grocery packs delivered to them.

A medical helpline, webinars as well as virtual doctors are additional resources that have been put in place for all its employees.

Read more: Singapore commercial properties affected by the novel coronavirus

For the latest numbers on the global situation, go to bt.sg/ncov