New coronavirus cluster with 4 staff infected, including 2 new cases announced

[Singapore] A NEW coronavirus cluster, the fifth here, has surfaced in Singapore, the Health Ministry said on Friday (Feb 28), as it announced two new confirmed cases.

Both are linked to Wizlearn Technologies, an e-learning solutions company located at 10 Science Park Road.

Two of the earlier cases - 93 and 95 - are also linked to the same firm. All four in the new cluster are colleagues.

There are now a total of 98 confirmed cases. With three more patients discharged as of noon on Friday, a total of 69 have now fully recovered, MOH said.

The two latest cases are both Singapore permanent residents, a 44-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man.

Neither has recent travel history to China, or to Daegu city and Cheongdo county in South Korea, where a significant number of Covid-19 infections have been reported.

The woman, Case 97, had attended a business meeting at the Agency for Integrated Care before her hospital admission. She lives in Choa Chu Kang North 5.

She reported onset of symptoms on Feb 20 and went to see a GP the same day. As she was identified as a close contact of case 93, she was referred to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Feb 27 and confirmed with the disease that same afternoon.

The 24-year-old man was confirmed to be infected on Friday morning and is currently warded in an isolation room at NCID.

Further details have also emerged on the movements of Case 95, who was announced on Thursday and is part of the same cluster.

Before his hospital admission on Feb 26, he had attended business meetings at Sport Singapore, Singapore Aviation Academy and Toa Payoh Hub, and had visited Toa Payoh Sport Centre. He lives in Choa Chu Kang Crescent.

On whether there are concerns that more cases could surface that are linked to the latest cluster, an MOH spokesman said: “Right now there are four cases. We will have to watch and see. We are doing our best to contain the situation.”

He added: “Clusters occur when people are together in a particular time and place.

Spread occurs in the family, it could occur in the workplace, in a religious setting, for example.”When new cases are uncovered, contact tracing is carried out and those closely linked to patients are quarantined at various facilities including Government chalets.
To date, 2,940 close contacts have been quarantined, with 191 still serving it.

The other clusters that have emerged here are the Grace Assembly of God church/Life Church and Missions Singapore, the Yong Thai Hang health products shop, the Grand Hyatt Singapore and a Seletar Aerospace Heights construction site.

THE STRAITS TIMES