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The Ministry of Health announced seven new cases in Singapore on Feb. 8, 2020, bringing the total number of cases to 40.
Among the new cases, one was a taxi driver (case 35), while another was a private hire driver (case 37).
After the onset of symptoms, case 35 largely stayed at home, except to visit Redhill Market and a hawker centre at Bukit Merah for meals.
He was admitted to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on Feb. 6.
Case 37 visited two GP clinics on Feb. 1 and Feb. 3, before being admitted to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) on Feb. 6.
Prior to hospital admission, he worked as a private hire car driver and stays at Jurong East Street 32.
Previous case of private hire driver
Previously, another private hire driver (case 27) was confirmed to be infected on Feb. 5.
However, it is likely that he had gotten the virus from his wife (case 19), who worked at the store where a group of Chinese tourists visited, sparking a cluster of cases.
This makes it a total of three drivers.
Grab has also just announced that GrabShare services will be temporarily suspended from Feb. 9, 1 am onwards, until further notice.
Drivers pick up a multitude of people and spend prolonged periods in close proximity with them.
More drivers these days have been observed to wear a mask.
MOH says that they continue to work with the Ministry of Transport to reach out to all taxi and private hire car drivers on the steps they should take to protect themselves in the course of their work.
The risk of infection from transient contact, such as on public transport or in public places, is assessed to be low.
Top image from Wikimedia Commons