73 additional cases of COVID-19 confirmed; Two new clusters at PCF Sparkletots Preschool Fengshan branch and Dover Court International School

As of Wednesday (25 March 2020), 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified an additional 73 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore.

This marks the highest daily increase of confirmed infected cases since the first MOH report on COVID-19 infection back in 23 Jan this year.

• The 38 imported cases had travel history to Europe, North America, ASEAN and other parts of Asia. All except one were returning residents and Long Term Pass holders.
• 27 cases are linked to clusters or previous cases.
• Eight cases are currently unlinked, and contact tracing is ongoing.

The new cases brings the total tally of the infected cases in Singapore to 631 cases.

Two new clusters have been identified

18 of the confirmed cases (Cases 516, 521, 566, 567, 572, 583, 584, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 609, 610, 612, 614, 617 and 624) are linked to a new cluster at PCF Sparkletots Preschool @ Fengshan Blk 126 (126 Bedok North Street 2). 14 of the cases are staff at the preschool, and four (Cases 521, 566, 567, and 572) are family members of Case 601.

Three of the confirmed cases (Cases 556, 618 and 626) are linked to a new cluster at Dover Court International School (301 Dover Road). All three are staff at the school.

Update on condition of confirmed cases

To date, a total of 160 cases have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital. Of the 404 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving.

17 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

65 cases who are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19 have been transferred to Concord International Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital and the Community Isolation Facility at D’Resort NTUC for isolation and care.

Two have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

Update on contact tracing for confirmed cases

Contact tracing for the confirmed cases is ongoing. Once identified, MOH will closely monitor all close contacts. As a precautionary measure, they will be quarantined for 14 days from their last exposure to the patient. In addition, all other identified contacts who have a low risk of being infected will be under active surveillance, and will be contacted daily to monitor their health status.

As of 25 March 2020, 12pm, MOH has identified 8,930 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 2,643 are currently quarantined, and 6,287 have completed their quarantine.