Sole Community Case Reported on 22 Feb Has Been on Quarantine But Had Ignored Symptoms

Last week, I had an itchy throat.

Normally, I’d pop a Strepsils and go to sleep, but this was 2021, and to do such a thing would be a mortal sin.

So I went to the doctor, and had my brain tickled with swabs through my nostrils.

A few days later, I was told that my Covid-19 test result was negative, and I could carry on with my day.

This process seems simple enough, right? See a doctor, get tested if advised, and stay at home for a bit.

But for some reason, many confirmed Covid-19 cases are finding it hard to do just that.

Sole Community Case Reported on 22 Feb Has Been on Quarantine But Had Ignored Symptoms

After four consecutive days of no community Covid-19 cases, one was reported yesterday (22 Feb).

The man is the husband of a previous Covid-19 case – a Singapore Airlines cabin crew member whose case was reported on 9 Feb.

The man, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH), works as as an event planner but had not been to work since 1 Feb.

On 9 Feb, the 43-year-old was identified as a close contact of his wife and was placed on quarantine.

He was tested on that day, but it returned negative.

Then, on 15 Feb, the man developed anosmia – a loss of the sense of smell – during his quarantine, but did not report his symptoms.

Even after developing a fever on 20 Feb, he did not inform the authorities, and simply self-medicated.

His infection was only detected on Sunday (21 Feb) as part of MOH’s protocol to test individuals during quarantine.

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

His infection is likely a recent one, as his serological test has come back negative. He has also been tested for the B117 strain of Covid-19, which is thought to be more infectious.

That result is pending.

MOH Reminds Individuals on Quarantine to Report Symptoms

MOH reminded those who are on quarantine or serving their stay-home notices that they are required to declare any symptoms immediately and to report their health status to the ministry 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”, MOH said.

It urged residents to be socially responsible and report their symptoms early, even if they are mild.

Community Cases Dropping

The other nine cases reported yesterday were all imported. All had been placed on stay-home notices upon their arrival here.

The goody news is that community cases have been going down in recent weeks.

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

Similarly, the number of unlinked cases in the community has also gone down from two in the week before to one in the past week.

Singapore now has a total of 59,879 infections.

Of these, 59,746 people have fully recovered and been discharged, meaning we have a 99.8% recovery rate.

Feature Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com