COVID-19: Bangladeshi case allowed into Singapore 'on medical grounds' – MOH

A flight information board shows cancelled flights, as airlines reduce flights following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Singapore's Changi Airport March 23, 2020.  REUTERS/Edgar Su
A flight information board shows cancelled flights during the coronavirus disease outbreak at Singapore's Changi Airport on 23 March, 2020. (PHOTO: Reuters)

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s latest imported case of COVID-19 in over a month was allowed to enter the country “based on medical grounds”, authorities confirmed on Monday (15 June), a day after they reported that the Bangladeshi man had tested positive for the virus following his arrival here.

In response to media queries, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said the 30-year-old man had been under the care of a doctor at Mount Elizabeth Hospital and had two operations performed earlier here. Identified as case 40560, the man is Singapore’s first imported case since 10 May.

“He needed to seek follow-up specialist medical care in Singapore as he is facing medical complications and is not responding well to treatment in his home country,” the MOH added.

The man was placed on a stay-home notice at a designated hotel upon his arrival in Singapore, said the MOH. He was conveyed from the airport to his hotel via a dedicated vehicle, and could only leave his designated place of residence for medical consultation and follow-up, it added.

According to the ministry on Sunday, the man had arrived in Singapore on 10 June and had not been diagnosed or suspected to have COVID-19. A health declaration form submitted before immigration clearance also indicated that he did not exhibit any symptoms of the coronavirus disease.

He was subsequently tested for the virus here and his results came back positive on three days after. Contact tracing is ongoing while identified close contacts have been placed on quarantine.

All short term visitors are not allowed to enter or transit through Singapore from 11.59pm on 23 March.

A "reciprocal fast lane" arrangement between Singapore and China currently allows residents of both countries to travel between the city-state and six Chinese provinces and municipalities – Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Zhejiang – for essential business and official purposes.

Discussions are underway with South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia to establish such arrangements.

To date, Singapore has 40,818 cases of COVID-19, including 581 imported cases.

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