Singapore confirms first case of Wuhan virus
NCID staff
Employees at Singapore's National Centre for Infectious Diseases putting on protective gear before carrying out testing for the Wuhan virus.
By Zhaki Abdullah and Hidayah Salamat
23 Jan 2020 09:04PM
(Updated: 23 Jan 2020 09:21PM)
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SINGAPORE: Singapore on Thursday (Jan 23) announced a confirmed case of the Wuhan virus, a new coronavirus that has sickened hundreds of people and killed at least 17.
In a media briefing on Thursday evening, the Ministry of Health said the patient is a 66-year-old Chinese man. The Wuhan resident, who arrived in Singapore with his family on Jan 20, flew from Guangzhou via China Southern flight CZ351.
He is currently in isolation at the Singapore General Hospital and is in stable condition.
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He reported having a sore throat while on the flight but no fever. The man developed a fever the next day and began coughing.
When he went to SGH on Wednesday, he was immediately isolated, diagnosed with pneumonia and identified to MOH as a suspect case at 10pm.
He tested positive for the new coronavirus at 6pm on Thursday.
CONTACT TRACING INITIATED
The ministry said that contact tracing has been initiated to identify close contacts, including the man's nine travel companions and approximately 30 people on the man's flight who were seated two rows in front and two rows behind him.
Those identified will be contacted by MOH.
MORE: Our coverage of the Wuhan virus and its developments
Among the man's travel companions was his 37-year-old son, who has been warded as a suspect case.
The man stayed at Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort and Spa and indicated that he kept within the hotel vicinity.
MOH said there have been a total of 28 suspect cases so far, with the ages ranging from one to 78 years old. Out of these, seven have tested negative.
One is a preliminary positive case, pending the results of a second round of tests. She is a 53-year-old Chinese woman, also a resident of Wuhan. Her condition is stable.
MORE CASES EXPECTED
MOH said Singapore can expect more imported cases given the large number of cases in China and high travel volume from China to Singapore.
The number of people infected by the SARS-like virus in China has topped 570.
The virus, which causes respiratory symptoms similar to a cold or flu, has been linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, the largest city in central China with a population of about 11 million. That market has since been shut down.
The virus has spread to Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, as well as provinces in northeastern, central and southern China.
Across the world, confirmed cases have also been reported in Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.
INTENSIFIED BORDER SCREENING
The news of Singapore's first confirmed case came a day after Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced the formation of a ministerial task force to deal with the situation.
Authorities also announced on Thursday that border screening will be expanded to all land and sea checkpoints, while a travel advisory has been expanded for Singaporeans to avoid travelling to Hubei province, where Wuhan city is located.
READ: Singapore forms Wuhan virus ministerial task force
24 Jan 2020: The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is aware of rumours circulating online that more than 100 arriving travellers from Wuhan were denied entry into Singapore. ICA would like to clarify that this is untrue and the alleged incident did not take place. ICA advises members of the public not to speculate or help spread unfounded rumours. They can also visit MOH’s website for updates on the novel coronavirus (Wuhan virus) situation.
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