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SINGAPORE: The only COVID-19 case in the Singapore community on Wednesday (February 24) is that of a 35-year-old Indonesian woman working as a foreign domestic worker, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
The woman, identified as Case 60439, works for Cases 60102 and 60389, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) cabin crew member and her husband who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month.
The aide was identified as a close contact for the cabin crew member and quarantined on February 9.
His swab and serological test on February 9 were negative for COVID-19, the Health Ministry said.
The woman developed a cough on February 20 during the quarantine, but it was not reported to the Ministry of Health.
She was tested for COVID-19 on February 22 and her result came back positive for COVID-19 infection the next day. The woman was then taken to the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) in an ambulance.
“The result of his serological test has been positive, but it is likely to be a recent infection,” said the Ministry of Health.
The woman also tested a preliminary positive for the B117 strain of the coronavirus, the most contagious strain first detected in the UK, and is awaiting further confirmation tests, he added.
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SIA CABIN’S CREW MEMBER AND HUSBAND REPORTED NO SYMPTOMS
The SIA crew member tested positive on February 9 after working on a flight back to the United Arab Emirates. She was the fifth person on the flight to contract the disease and could have been infected aboard the plane, the Health Ministry said earlier this month.
Singapore’s Civil Aviation Authority has previously said that the cabin crew member did not interact with any infected passengers on the flight, but may have been in close contact with cleaners who boarded the plane during the change of course in Dubai
The flight departed Singapore on January 30 and returned on February 1. The cabin crew member was assigned business class without passengers during the trip to Dubai. She was placed as a passenger and sat with the rest of the crew in the back of the plane during her return trip to Singapore.
She developed “anosmia” on February 4, the Health Ministry said previously, referring to the loss of smell, but did not seek medical attention. His infection was detected during a joint aircrew test conducted on February 7 and confirmed in an individual test on February 9.
Her husband, an event planner, was quarantined on February 9. He also developed “anosmia,” or loss of smell, on February 15 during his quarantine, but did not report his symptom. He later developed a fever and self-medicated on February 20, again without informing the Ministry of Health of his symptoms.
The man was examined for COVID-19 the next day as part of the Health Ministry’s protocol to screen people in quarantine. His test came back positive and he was taken to NCID.
Both the cabin crew and her husband preliminarily tested positive for the B117 strain.
READ: Husband of SIA Cabin Crew Member Tests Positive for COVID-19, Reported No Symptoms During Quarantine
READ: SIA cabin crew member could have been infected on flight, 4 passengers also tested positive for COVID-19: MOH
“People who receive a quarantine or stay-at-home notice should promptly declare any symptoms and report their health status to the Ministry of Health every day. They are provided with a list of COVID-19 symptoms to which they should pay attention, as well as notification instructions, at the beginning of their isolation period ”, the Ministry of Health has previously said.
“We remind these people to be socially responsible and to report their symptoms immediately, even if they are early or mild.”
Singapore reported a total of seven new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, bringing the national count to 59,890 cases.
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