Grand Hyatt S'pore business meeting attended by 109 people source of M'sia & South Korea coronavirus cases

Being able to track the source is better than not being able to.

Belmont Lay | February 06, 2020, 07:45 AM

At least three novel coronavirus cases in South Korea and Malaysia stemmed from a business meeting at Grand Hyatt Singapore attended by 109 participants in late January 2020.

These facts were made known by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

The private business meeting occurred from Jan. 20 to 22.

All attendees were from one company.

A total of 15 participants were Singapore residents and 94 were from overseas.

Four of the 15 Singapore residents reported having symptoms and have been referred to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases for assessment, MOH said.

It was also revealed that the remaining 11 are well.

All of the foreign participants have left Singapore.

MOH also said it has informed the relevant overseas health authorities.

Details of Malaysia case

According to MOH previously, this 42-year-old man from the state of Selangor, was in Singapore for a week, from Jan. 16 to Jan. 23.

He attended a business meeting at the hotel, which was also attended by Chinese nationals.

According to Malaysian health authorities, the man showed symptoms on Jan. 29, six days after he left Singapore.

He was subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus on Feb. 3, Malaysia announced on Feb. 4.

Malaysian authorities are tracking his close contacts.

Details of South Korea case

On Feb. 5, South Korea reported that one of the infected persons is a 38-year-old South Korean man who visited Singapore for a conference between Jan. 18 to Jan. 24.

He came into contact with a Malaysian who later tested positive for the virus.

“With information of a confirmed case who is Malaysian, he visited a local screening centre (triage clinic centre) on Feb. 4, 2020,” said Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The South Korean man tested positive for the virus on Feb. 5 by the North Gyeonggi Health and Environment Research Institute.

Grand Hyatt Singapore response

Grand Hyatt Hotel has confirmed that the Malaysian had stayed at the hotel for a week in mid-January.

The hotel has been deep cleaned and it is not aware of any other cases among its hotel guests or staff.

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Top photo via Grand Hyatt Singapore