Singapore — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has reported a Covid-19 dormitory case of a Bangladeshi man who had arrived in December and tested negative for the virus multiple times. It has classified the case to be locally transmitted.
In the MOH’s daily Covid-19 update on Friday (Feb 5), two locally-transmitted cases were reported. The first, case 59966, a 31-year-old male Bangladesh national, is a Work Pass holder who arrived in Singapore on Dec 13, 2020. The man served his Stay-Home Notice (SHN) at a dedicated facility until Dec 27.
He had a swab test on Dec 23 during SHN, which came back negative for the virus.
The man tested negative once more during a rostered routine testing (RRT) for migrant workers on Jan 13.
The man is also reported to be asymptomatic of Covid-19. It was during an RRT on Feb 4 that the virus was detected.
“His serology test has come back positive, but given the relatively long time interval between his travel and positive Covid-19 test, we have classified this case as locally transmitted,” noted MOH.
“He has not started work since arriving in Singapore and stays at a dormitory located at 1, Soon Lee Street.”
The other locally-transmitted case is a 56-year-old male Singaporean who works as an import officer at Yusen Logistics and is based at Changi Cargo Megaplex 1 (119, Airport Cargo Road).
The case is currently tagged as unlinked, and the man’s job does not entail interaction with flight passengers, said the MOH.
The man had developed a cough on Feb 2 but did not seek medical attention and continued to go to work. As he had been identified earlier as a contact of a tuberculosis (TB) case at his workplace, he went to the Tuberculosis Control Unit on Feb 4 for TB screening. The man was tested for Covid-19 after he reported his symptoms.
His test result came back positive on the same day and he was conveyed in an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. It was reported that the man had also tested negative for the virus on Jan 18 during a testing operation of airport cargo workers.
To date, there are 41 confirmed Covid-19 cases still in the hospital. One is in critical condition in the intensive care unit. Meanwhile, 206 are isolated and cared for at community facilities. In all, 59,373 people have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities. /TISG
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