Part-time Grab driver who contracted Covid-19 temporarily suspended

[SINGAPORE] The part-time Grab driver who was the sole Covid-19 community case on Monday has been temporarily suspended from the Grab platform in line with the ride-hailing operator's safety precaution measures.

Grab said in a statement on Tuesday (Dec 29) that it is working with the Ministry of Health to provide all necessary information on the man - who also works as a Singapore Airlines cabin crew member - for contact tracing purposes.

It added that to ensure higher safety and hygiene standards, all of its drivers have access to free sanitiser and disinfectant at the Grab Driver Centre.

After every ride, Grab drivers and passengers have the option to provide feedback or report on any health and hygiene-related concerns.

Meanwhile, a 48-year-old Singaporean man who returned from Indonesia was one of the 13 coronavirus cases announced on Tuesday (Dec 29), bringing Singapore's total to 58,542.

All of Tuesday's recorded coronavirus cases were imported and comprised one Singaporean, two permanent residents, nine work permit holders and one short-term visit pass holder.

There was also a 71-year-old female permanent resident who returned from the United States.

The other cases returned from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Malaysia.

All the imported cases had been placed on stay-home notices or isolated on arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

There were no new community cases and none from worker dormitories on Tuesday.

No new places were added to the list of locations visited by Covid-19 patients while they were infectious.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained low, with just one currently unlinked case in the past week.

With 14 cases discharged on Tuesday, 58,385 patients have now fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 37 patients remain in hospital while 76 are recuperating in community facilities. None is in intensive care.

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

THE STRAITS TIMES