Editors note: A previous version of this article inaccurately stated that case 126 did not have respiratory symptoms when he was first admitted. He did have respiratory symptoms and was placed in a three-bed acute respiratory ward that had certain enhanced measures such as extra bed space. The article have been edited to reflect that
There were 13 new Covid-19 cases announced on Friday (Mar. 6).
One of them, Case 126, is a 77-year-old male Singapore citizen who has no recent travel history to affected countries and regions.
He was in the same ward as Case 109 in SGH from Feb. 29 to Mar. 1, before Case 109 was confirmed to have been infected with Covid-19.
As such, Case 126 has been quarantined since Mar. 4, and was confirmed to be infected with Covid-19 on the afternoon of Mar. 5. He is currently warded at NCID.
As part of SGH's enhanced safety precautions, patients with acute respiratory infection have been placed in wards with greater separation between patients to minimise the risk of infection.
Associate Professor Tan Thuan Tong (head of infectious diseases at SGH), talked to reporters about case 126 as well.
He noted that the beds were around 3 meters apart and that patients had been advised not to move around and mix. The distance between them had been specially put in place in light of the current situation, and beds had been removed from the ward to create more space between patients.
MOH's Director of Medical Services Kenneth Mak told reporters that MOH is investigating further, and have asked SGH to make sure there were no lapses, or breaches.
Mak stated that while there will always be a theoretical possibility that the two patients could have mingled, that is just speculation at this point in time.
Case 109
Case 109 is a 70-year-old Singaporean man who worked at Fish Mart Sukuraya along West Coast Road prior to hospital admission.
He did not serve any customers or handle food, according to the Ministry of Health.
The 70-year-old has no recent travel history to affected countries and regions but developed symptoms on Feb. 25.
Following which, he had sought treatment at a general practitioner (GP) clinic on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.
He was presented at Singapore General Hospital on Feb. 29.
Subsequent test results confirmed his Covid-19 infection on March 2 afternoon.
MOH has not established any links between this elderly man and previous cases as of March 3 update.
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