88-years-old woman passed away due to COVID-19 complications on Saturday

A 88-years-old woman passed away due to COVID-19 complications on Saturday (1 May), announced the Ministry of Health (MOH).

This brings the total number of deaths related to the COVID-19 in Singapore to 31.

The ministry said that the woman, referred to as Case 62573, had been warded in Ward 9D in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) from 14 April and was confirmed to have Covid-19 on 28 April.

According to the MOH’s statement, she had a history of cancer, hypertension, congestive cardiac failure, stroke and hyperlipidaemia.

TTSH posted a Facebook post, saying that it has made special arrangements or her family to video conference her and visit her from outside her isolation room in her last moments.

The TTSH cluster is the the country’s largest with 27 confirmed cases of COVID-19 currently, following the update of figures on Sunday (2 May). It is also the first cluster in hospital.

A nurse who works in Ward 9D tested positive for the virus on 27 April, which forced the hospital to put four hospital ward in a lockdown and sent 76 employees on leave of absence.

The ministry has said that nine patients from Ward 9D, including the 88-year-old woman, and a family member of a patient in the same ward have been confirmed to contracted the virus. Another confirmed cases were two doctors, a healthcare assistant trainee, a cleaner working in the hospital, as well as one patient from ward 9C.

Close contacts of the cases, including patients, visitors and staff who have been in the affected wards have been placed on quarantine.

Visitors are not allowed at the hospital except on a case-by-case basis for patients who are critically ill.

MOH has reported an additional 34 cases of COVID-19 infections as of Saturday noon, with a total tally of 61,179 cases since the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. All of those cases announced involving Work Permit holders residing inside and outside dormitories.