Out of the 5 Local COVID-19 Cases on 4 May, 3 Are From Healthcare Sector Linked to COVID-19

The number of local COVID-19 transmissions in Singapore yesterday is relatively healthy: there were just five of them.

They are four Singaporeans and a Singapore PR.

Two of them are linked: a 35-year-old male Singaporean is linked to the cluster at a dormitory and a 35-year-old female Singapore PR is linked to a previously confirmed case as she’s a household contact of Case 15024.

However, the other three are currently unlinked, and all of them worked in the healthcare sector that’s related to the COVID-19.

Out of the 5 Local COVID-19 Cases on 4 May, 3 Are From Healthcare Sector Linked to COVID-19

The first patient is a 33-year-old female Singaporean who works as a facilities manager at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). She is now warded at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

The second patient is a 32-year-old female Singaporean who works as a doctor in Changi General Hospital, and prior to being admitted to the hospital, she has been at work for a few hours. She is now warded in the same hospital she works in.

The last patient is a 52-year-old female Singaporean who works as a healthcare volunteer at Singapore Expo. She is now warded in NCID.

Now, if you’d have remembered, on 2 May 2020, a 34-year-old nurse who was employed by HPB and deployed to Expo has tested positive for Covid-19.

So, is it a cause of concern?

No Evidence of Healthcare Frontline Workers Infected While in Line of Duty

As of 26 April 2020, there have been 66 COVID-19 patients who work in the healthcare sector. Of these patients, 46 of them have direct contact with patients.

However, they were most probably not infected due to their work, and among the linked cases, many were either imported or had been infected at home by a household member or linked to church clusters.

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Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said, “Based on the investigations thus far, there are no established epidemiological links showing that these healthcare workers were infected in the line of duty.”

However, there is “one case in a private healthcare institution where we are unable to rule out a possible link between the doctor and a COVID-19 patient.”

Also, a recent study by NCID, whereby they did random testing on healthcare workers lest they’re infected without symptoms, shows that there has been no infection among healthcare workers.

Nevertheless, Mr Gan said that “in the event that our healthcare workers fall sick, we will ensure that they are well taken care of. Under such unfortunate circumstances, our institutions stay in touch with infected healthcare workers to check-in on their general well-being.”

So if anyone’s wounded on the battlefield, he or she would be well taken care of.

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