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COVID-19: Second DBS employee contracts coronavirus

Singapore - November 17, 2018: Unidentified people visit Takashimaya Ngee Ann city shopping mall in Orchard road Singapore.
Ngee Ann city shopping mall in Orchard Road Singapore. (PHOTO: Getty Editorial)

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s largest bank DBS confirmed a second employee has been infected by the novel coronavirus.

Case 77, who was announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday evening (17 February), is a DBS employee who works in the bank’s satellite office, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday.

The MOH had identified the 35-year-old Singaporean man as a contact of a fellow employee who works at its head office at Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) and was confirmed to have the virus last Wednesday.

Checks by Yahoo Finance confirmed that DBS has an office on the 24th floor of Tower A of Ngee Ann City (NAC) on Orchard Road. When approached, an NAC spokesman said that the DBS office was the affected unit.

He said that the office and the entire level have been deep-cleaned and disinfected in accordance with health ministry guidelines. The spokesman added that the 23rd and 25th floor have also been sanitised as a precaution.

The bank, which did not confirm the location of the office, said the man was in close contact with its first case and had already been placed under quarantine before he was diagnosed.

Last Wednesday, DBS asked 300 workers from its head office at MBFC Tower 3 to leave and work from home as a precautionary measure after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus.

“We are rendering every support to him and his family during this period. We have also identified those who were in close contact with him, and are taking the same precautions as we did with the first case,” the bank said.

DSB said the health and well-being of their employees and customers is a top priority, and it will continue to monitor the situation closely.

“Affected employees have been receiving support from the bank including having basic grocery packs delivered to them. A medical helpline, webinars as well as virtual doctors are additional resources that have been put in place for all employees,” the bank said.

Singapore has a total of 77 cases as of Monday evening. Out of the 77 cases, seven have no established links to any previous cases or travel history to mainland China. In total, there are 55 cases of local transmissions.

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