Coronavirus: 12-year-old RI student and his family member among 3 new confirmed cases in S'pore; 4 others discharged

SINGAPORE - Three new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) were confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Feb 27), including a 12-year-old Raffles Institution student and his 64-year-old family member.

The third case is a 44-year-old man.

Meanwhile, four others have recovered and were discharged.

This brings the total number of cases here to 96, of which 66 have fully recovered.

The ministry said eight of the 30 patients who are still in hospital are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

The 64-year-old woman, Case 94, lives in the Jalan Jurong Kechil area.

She fell ill on Feb 11 and saw a doctor at a general practitioner (GP) clinic on Feb 17, and again on Feb 20.

On Feb 24, she saw the GP again and was referred to Singapore General Hospital, where she was warded in an isolation room.

Tests confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that she had the virus.

The RI student, who is Case 96, with no recent travel history to China, Daegu and Cheongdo, was confirmed to have the infection on Feb 27. He is currently warded in an isolation room at KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

In a statement, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that classes at RI and the MOE Language Centre in Bishan, where the infected student attended lessons, will be suspended on Friday for thorough cleaning.

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Case 95, a 44-year-old man, tested positive on Thursday morning.

He was linked to case 93, a 38-year-old man who was confirmed to have the virus on Wednesday.

Neither had recent travel history to China or Daegu city and Cheongdo county in South Korea.

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The discharged cases include two Chinese nationals and two Singaporeans from the Grace Assembly of God church cluster:

- Case 18, a 31-year-old woman from Wuhan who arrived in Singapore on Jan 22. She had been warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) since Jan 31.

- Case 72, a 40-year-old man from China who holds a Singapore work pass. He is a non-medical contact of the private hospital doctor who was discharged on Wednesday.

- Case 78, a 57-year-old Singaporean woman who is linked to the senior pastor of the Grace Assembly of God church. She is an employee of St Luke's Hospital but did not work in the wards or clinics and had no direct contact with patients.

- Case 80, a 38-year-old Singaporean woman who works at the National University Hospital in an administrative capacity. She is linked to case 66, a man who works at the Grace Assembly of God church.

With 23 cases, the Grace Assembly of God church remains the largest cluster.

It has been linked to another cluster at the Life Church and Missions Singapore, which was visited by tourists from Wuhan on Jan 19.

Other clusters so far include the Yong Thai Hang health products shop, the Grand Hyatt Singapore and a Seletar Aerospace Heights construction site.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.