COVID-19: Infected Bangladeshi man out of ICU after more than 2 months
SINGAPORE — A Bangladeshi man, Singapore’s 42nd COVID-19 patient, has been transferred to a general ward after being in the intensive care unit (ICU) for over two months.
The 39-year-old man has been taken off the ventilator and is no longer sedated, said non-government organisation Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) on its Facebook page on Thursday (16 April).
“He is able to breathe on his own and will require speech therapy moving forward as part of his recovery process,” said the MWC, an initiative of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers’ Federation (SNEF).
The man was admitted to the Changi General Hospital’s ICU on 7 February.
He tested positive for the virus a day later and was transferred to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) where he was admitted to the ICU.
The man was in "very critical” condition, having had respiratory and kidney problems as well as pneumonia prior to being infected with the coronavirus, said the Bangladesh High Commission on 21 February.
He was later transferred out of the NCID’s ICU in the second half of March after being cleared of the virus, into a normal ICU.
While under sedation, the man’s wife gave birth to their firstborn, a boy, on 30 March.
He is the first of five cases – all Bangladeshi nationals – linked to a construction site at Seletar Aerospace Heights, one of several identified clusters in Singapore.
The MWC said in the post on Thursday that it has tracked his case closely for more than two months and grown close to both the worker’s family and his employer.
“We have spoken with the family and the employer regarding this very encouraging and happy development and can report that all concerned are overjoyed,” said the centre.
It added, “On behalf of the family and the employer, the MWC would like to thank all well-wishers and benefactors for their prayers and contributions during the worker’s time in hospital.
“In particular, we are inspired by Case #42’s fighting spirit throughout this lengthy ordeal and thank him for prevailing and getting better.”
To date, there are 3,699 cases of the virus here in Singapore. Of these, 10 have died while 652 have fully recovered. A total of 1,711 cases are linked to foreign worker dormitories and construction site clusters.
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COVID-19: Wife of critically ill Singapore-based Bangladeshi worker gives birth to firstborn
Bangladeshi man infected with COVID-19 in Singapore in 'very critical' condition: High Commission
