SINGAPORE: The 41-year-old man identified on Thursday (Feb 6) as Singapore’s 29th confirmed case of novel coronavirus had visited the Seletar clinic of the Phoenix Medical Group on two occasions before his infection was confirmed.
In a circular dated Feb 6, the Phoenix Medical Group said the man had visited its clinic in Seletar last Thursday and again on Monday.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe man appeared “quite ill” with gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms, as well as a moderate fever when he visited the clinic on Monday, and was asked to go to the emergency department, the group said.
He did not fulfill the Health Ministry’s (MOH) criteria for a suspected case of the coronavirus and as such was not sent to the hospital using a dedicated ambulance service, the circular said.
MOH then brought the case to Phoenix Medical’s attention on Thursday at around midday for active contact tracing, it added, noting the group was informed that his infection was confirmed later that night.
[h=3]READ: Singapore confirms 2 more coronavirus cases, including 1 who attended Grand Hyatt meeting[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisement[h=3]READ: Condition worsens for 2 coronavirus patients in Singapore: MOH[/h]The 41-year-old, who is a Singapore citizen, has no recent travel history to mainland China and no known links with the other confirmed cases of the virus so far.
MOH said the man developed a fever on Jan 28, five days after the first confirmed case of the coronavirus here was reported.
In its statement issued on Thursday, the ministry said that he had visited a general practitioner’s clinic on Jan 29, and subsequently sought treatment at another clinic on Jan 30, before being admitted to the Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital on Monday.
On Wednesday at about 11pm, test results confirmed the man was infected by the coronavirus.
“Epidemiological investigations and contact tracing are ongoing to identify individuals who had close contact with the case, and to establish any link he may have had with confirmed cases in Singapore or travellers from mainland China,” MOH said in its statement.
“We are interviewing the patient and his close contacts, and investigating the locations he had recently been to,” it added.
In the Phoenix Medical Group’s circular – signed by three of the clinic’s doctors – it said all the rooms, corridors, table tops, seats and examination couches had been "deep cleansed" between 6pm and 9pm on Thursday.
The doctor who attended to the man had also opted to take a voluntary leave of absence until Feb 17, and is currently well, it noted.
“We would like to assure members of the public, patients and well-meaning family and friends that we will remain vigilant against the scourge of the novel coronavirus and continue our fight against it,” Phoenix Medical said in the circular.
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