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SINGAPORE – They had taken extra precautions ahead of a long-awaited trip to Singapore to visit relatives during the holiday season at the end of the year, including self-isolation at their home in Britain for more than two weeks before arriving in Singapore on October 26. .
But the 64-year-old Briton and his Singaporean wife ended up being one of 13 cases suspected of being infected with Covid-19 while under hospital admissions (SHN) at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore hotel.
“We didn’t even go to the supermarket because we wanted to make sure we were clean before we got to Singapore … that made us even more frustrating (when we found out about the alleged transmission),” the Briton said, declining to be identified, told The Straits Times on Sunday (December 20).
“We went to great lengths to avoid people, as the cases in the UK were much worse.”
On Saturday (December 19), the Ministry of Health (MINSA) said it was investigating all 13 cases, as it was found that they had been infected by coronavirus strains that have “high genetic similarity,” implying that infections can come from the same source.
But the 13 people had flown from 10 countries, including the United States, South Korea, Britain, the Philippines and Bahrain. All 13 were originally classified as imported cases.
The incident has caused all guests to be progressively removed from the hotel, more than 500 employees to be screened for Covid-19, and the hotel to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
So far, serological tests performed on three staff members have come back positive, indicating probable past infections, the Health Ministry said on Sunday. Epidemiological investigations of these cases are ongoing.
In response to this news, the Briton, a retiree who worked in the bank, told The Straits Times that he hoped to have a “full and frank discussion” with the authorities about what happened, once the investigations of the cases were concluded.
His 59-year-old wife had tested positive for Covid-19 on November 6, as part of a mandatory test that all travelers had to take towards the end of their SHN period.
He was transferred to another hotel after his wife tested positive. Soon after, she developed a dry cough, aches and pains, fever and chills, and tested positive on November 8.
They were treated at the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), before being transferred to a community care center, from where they were discharged in late November after recovering from Covid-19. They are still in Singapore.
“It was very scary to learn that I had Covid-19, given my age and history of asthma. I always believed that if I contracted Covid, I would probably not survive because of (my risk factors). But it was a great relief that I managed to move forward and I was lucky to have received a lot of attention at NCID, “said the man.
“The biggest frustration was that I lost the first 34 days of my vacation … we were eager to get some release after what had been a terrible year for all of us.”
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