SINGAPORE, Feb 23 — The husband of a Singapore Airlines cabin crew member is the sole Covid-19 community case in Singapore yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said.

In its update of the coronavirus situation here, MoH said that the 43-year-old Singaporean man works as an event planner but had not been to work since February 1.

He was identified as a close contact of his wife — the 41-year-old Singaporean cabin crew member — and was placed on quarantine on February 9. The swab test taken that day was negative for the coronavirus.  

On February 15, however, the man developed anosmia — a partial or complete loss of the sense of smell — during his quarantine but did not report the symptoms.

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He then developed a fever on February 20 and was self-medicating, MoH said.

He again did not inform the authorities of his symptoms.

The man was then tested for the coronavirus on Sunday as part of MoH’s protocol to test individuals during quarantine.  

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“His test came back positive for Covid-19 on the same day and he was conveyed in an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.”

His serological test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection. He has been tested for the B117 strain, and the result is pending,” MoH said.

The ministry stressed that those who are on quarantine or serving their stay-home notices are required to declare any symptoms promptly and to report their health status to MoH every day.

“They are provided with a list of Covid-19 symptoms to look out for, as well as reporting instructions, at the start of their isolation period.

“We remind these individuals to be socially responsible and to report their symptoms promptly, even if these are early or mild,” it said.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has gone down from five in the week before to two in the past week.

The number of cases with no known links in the community has also gone down from two in the week before to one in the past week.

Imported cases

There were nine imported cases of Covid-19 yesterday and all had been placed on stay-home notices upon their arrival here.

They are:

― Two Singaporeans who returned from Indonesia and the United Kingdom

― Three dependant’s pass holders who arrived from India, Indonesia and the United States

― One work pass holder who came from the Philippines

― Three work permit holders who arrived from Indonesia and Myanmar — one of whom is a foreign domestic worker

Updates on remaining cases

The total number of infections in Singapore is now 59,879.

Of these, 59,746 people have fully recovered and been discharged, including 15 yesterday.

There are 19 patients in hospitals, including one who is in intensive care.

Another 85 patients are isolated at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still tested positive for Covid-19.

Twenty-nine people have died from complications due to the disease. ― TODAY