The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Mar. 29 that a 70-year-old Singaporean man has passed away of complications due to Covid-19.

He is the third Covid-19 death in Singapore.

According to MOH information, the man — Case 109 — did not have travel history to affected countries and regions, and was not linked to any clusters or previous cases.

His name is Chung Ah Lay.

Chung is survived by his three children and five grandchilden.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has expressed his condolences.

He wrote in a Facebook post: "I got home to learn the sad news that another Covid-19 patient had passed away. My deepest sympathies to the family."

He added: "Keeping a safe physical distance apart should not mean social isolation. Give your friends and family a call, and continue supporting one another during this period."

SGH has reached out to his family and is extending assistance to them, said the MOH.

No travel history to affected regions

According to the man's daughter on March 4, the news of her father's infection came as a surprise to the family as he did not travel to affected countries recently.

Despite having no recent travel history to affected countries and regions, the man developed symptoms on Feb. 25.

The daughter, Ashley Chung, said that her father felt lethargic on Feb. 25, so much so that he overslept on the bus and missed a stop on the way to work on Feb. 26.

At the time, he worked at Fish Mart Sakuraya along West Coast Road, but did not serve any customers or handle food, according to MOH.

He then developed a fever but was not coughing when he visited a general practitioner (GP) clinic on Feb. 27.

He also visited the GP clinic on Feb. 28.

Chung said that her father, who used to smoke in the past, has a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

However, this is the first time he was so ill, so the family decided to send him to the emergency department at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on Feb. 29.

While at SGH, he was initially admitted to the ward for patients with respiratory problems, before testing positive for Covid-19 in the first test on the afternoon of Mar. 1.

He was then sent to be isolated, and required assistance for breathing.

His condition took a turn for the worse, and a second test on Mar. 2 further confirmed his infection of Covid-19.

According to Chung, her father was sent to the intensive care unit (ICU) on March. 3.

Daughter had appealed for help

In a Facebook post on Mar. 4, Chung had appealed for recovered Covid-19 patients to donate their plasma for a convalescent plasma therapy trial.

She shared that her father was "gravely ill", and that they hoped that the call for donations could help to fast track the plasma therapy for critically-ill patients.

"Once again, we thank you for your kind attention and the willingness to step forward to give that glimpse of hope for our family in such times of distress", she wrote.

At the time, Chung said that the photo that she shared with Mothership and Lianhe Wanbao showed her dad’s happiest time, and that the family hoped to see that again.

Not linked to any clusters, but linked to case 126

MOH has not established any links between the man and any existing clusters.

He was, however, linked with Case 126, a 77-year-old man who had been in the same ward as Case 109 at SGH between Feb. 29 and Mar. 1, prior to Case 109 being confirmed to have Covid-19.

Case 126 was then discharged from SGH on Mar. 1.

As Case 126 was identified as a close contact of Case 109, he was issued a quarantine order on Mar. 4.

He reported onset of symptoms on Mar. 5, and was conveyed to NCID via ambulance

He was then confirmed to have Covid-19 on the morning of Mar. 6.

MOH had previously announced that there was "no risk of spread" from Case 109's stay in the ward at SGH.

As of Mar. 29, Case 126 has yet to be discharged from the hospital.

Top photos courtesy of Ashley Chung and by Zhangxin Zheng.