A 70-year-old man in Singapore was announced to have the Covid-19 virus on March 3.
Case 109
He is the 109th person in Singapore found with Covid-19, and has no recent travel history to affected countries and regions, according to the Ministry of Health's announcement.
It was also not immediately clear where he contracted the virus from as he was not linked to any of the existing clusters.
According to MOH, he reported onset of symptoms on February 25 and had sought treatment at a general practitioner (GP) clinic on February 27 and February 28.
He presented at the Singapore General Hospital on February 29 and was immediately isolated.
Subsequent test results confirmed he was infected on March 2 afternoon.
Prior to hospital admission, he had gone to work at Fish Mart Sakuraya (154 West Coast Road), but had not served customers or handled food.
He stays at Everton Park.
Daughter appeals to recovered patients to donate blood plasma
His daughter, Ashley Chung, came forward a day after to appeal to all recovered patients to participate in the convalescent plasma trial in Singapore, after being informed that there are cases of success in China.
Still in ICU
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 is so ill, which was why the family decided to send him to the emergency department at the Singapore General Hospital on Feb. 29.
He was admitted to the ward that houses patients with respiratory problems prior to being confirmed with Covid-19 on March 1 after the first swab test.
The elder Chung was then transferred and isolated as a Covid-19 case.
His second swab test further confirmed he was infected with Covid-19 on March 2 afternoon.
Mothership understands from Chung that her father is still in the intensive care unit as of March 6.
Chung also said that she's heartened that some recovered patients have already reached out to her to express willingness to help and expressed confidence in SGH's medical team.
SGH: No risk of spread from the patient at any point during his time at the hospital
In response to Mothership's query, Associate Professor Tan Thuan Tong, Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Infectious Diseases at SGH, said that the ward dedicated to looking after patients with respiratory conditions are "special isolation wards".
Patients in these wards are staying in either single or larger rooms with no more than three patients, to ensure appropriate physical separation between patients, Tan explained.
According to Tan, no visitors are allowed to these wards and stringent infection prevention and control measures are observed at all times.
The elder Chung was immediately transferred to our isolation ward’s negative pressure room after his first test returned positive.
"While the patient had not met the suspect case definition, we had taken a swab for testing as a precautionary measure," Tan said.
In their statement, SGH assures the public that the patient was appropriately cared for upon his admission, and that prompt action was taken to transfer him to the appropriate level of isolation facilities throughout his stay.
The statement also wrote that there was no risk of spread from the patient at any point during his time at the hospital.
Top photos courtesy of Ashley Chung and taken by Zheng Zhangxin