Two of three new virus cases linked to church, including SAF regular
A Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regular serviceman and a welding company employee, both linked to the Grace Assembly of God cluster, were two of three new coronavirus cases confirmed yesterday.
This brings the number of cases linked to the church to 18, and the total confirmed cases here to 75 as of noon yesterday. All three of the cases involved Singaporeans with no recent travel history to China.
The Health Ministry (MOH) said the serviceman, 43, had symptoms on Feb 9 and saw a general practitioner the next day.
On Feb 13, he was served a home quarantine order after he was identified as a close contact of Case 51, a 48-year-old man who worked at Grace Assembly of God and tested positive for the Covid-19 infection on Feb 12.
The serviceman, who lives in Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, was later taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Feb 14 and confirmed to be infected on Saturday afternoon.
He attended church service at Grace Assembly of God in Tanglin some time before he was admitted to hospital.
Yesterday, the Defence Ministry said the serviceman worked at Building 613 of Tengah Air Base and last visited his workplace on Feb 6, before the onset of his symptoms.
The SAF has carried out immediate and thorough disinfection of the premises he had been in.
In the other case linked to Grace Assembly of God, a 29-year-old man was confirmed as infected on Saturday.
Now warded at Alexandra Hospital, the man went to the hospital's urgent care centre on Feb 12 after showing symptoms and went there again on Saturday, when he was admitted.
He lives at Mei Ling Street in Queenstown and works at Hi-Yew Technology in Ubi Road.
The 75th confirmed case involved a 71-year-old woman who had been under quarantine since Feb 7 and tested positive yesterday morning.
Currently warded at the NCID, she is a family member of Case 41, the 71-year-old who visited Paya Lebar Methodist Church and picked up his grandchild outside Pat's Schoolhouse in Kovan. Of the 56 confirmed cases still in hospital, most are stable or improving, while five remain in critical condition.
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