Coronavirus: Singapore confirms two new infections; one has no known link to previous cases

Health authorities said contact tracing was underway to establish a connection between the new case and the city state’s other infections

The condition of two previously-diagnosed patients has worsened; one is in critical condition in intensive care and the other requires additional oxygen support

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Singaporeans are advised to defer all travel to Hubei province and all non-essential travel to mainland China. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:45pm, 6 Feb 2020Updated: 3:04pm, 25 Feb 2020

Singapore on Thursday confirmed two new cases of the coronavirus, including a 41-year-old man with no recent travel history to mainland China and no identifiable link to the city state’s other infections.

The new cases brought Singapore’s total infections to 30 and the health ministry also confirmed the condition of two patients previously diagnosed had deteriorated.

One patient is now in critical condition in intensive care and another requires additional oxygen support, the ministry said.

Contact tracing for the new 41-year-old patient was ongoing as officials sought to establish a connection with past cases or Chinese travellers who may have carried the coronavirus known as 2019-nCoV.

The Singapore citizen was admitted to hospital on February 3 and was diagnosed with the virus on February 5. He reported that he had developed a fever on January 28 and sought treatment at two general practitioner clinics on January 29 and 30.

The other new case is a 27-year-old man who attended a business meeting last month at the Grand Hyatt in Singapore, where participants were all from the same company and included visitors from Malaysia, South Korea and China’s Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak.