Infected Wuhan's man's son in Singapore becomes second confirmed patient

Singapore said today the 37-year-old son of the first infected Chinese patient from Wuhan is also infected with the coronavirus. 

And another person, a woman from Wuhan, is confirmed to be infected, brigning the total number of cases to three, the Ministry of Health announced today, state broadcaster Channel News Asia reports. 

The second new confirmed case is a 53-year-old woman from Wuhan who arrived in Singapore on a flight operated by Singapore budget carrier, Scoot,  at 5:30am on January 21, and developed a fever, cough and chills in the afternoon, the ministry said.

She sought medical attention at Raffles Hospital the next day and was later taken to the emergency department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she was isolated.

The ministry was notified of a suspect case at 3:00 am on January 23. The woman tested positive for the virus at midnight.

The woman stayed at J8 Hotel and visited Orchard Road, Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay, the ministry said. She is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases and is in a stable condition.

Yesterday Singapore reported the first confirmed case, a 66-year-old Wuhan resident who arrived in the island from Guangzhou on January 20. He is in isolation at the Singapore General Hospital and in a stable condition, authorities said.

Contact tracing has been initiated to identify about 30 people seated near the man during his flight to Singapore. His nine travel companions have also been identified. One of them was his 37-year-old son, who is now confirmed as infected with the virus. The other eight have left Singapore.

Associate Professor Vernon Lee, director of Communicable Diseases at the Health Ministry, said that close contacts are people "who are within about 2m and spend a reasonable prolonged period of time, about 30 minutes or more, with the individual", the Straits Times reported.

"These are typically family members, travelling companions. They will be at a higher risk of exposure to the case. They'll be identified as close contacts and we'll quarantine them," he said.

The second tier, who are at moderate risk, are people with some contact - but neither close nor prolonged, such as encounters at public places or hotel check-in.

On the first confirmed patient, officials said they have identified 46 people who had close contact with the 66-year-old man, who arrived on a China Southern flight on January 20. Of the 46 close contacts, 24 have left Singapore, the ST said.

Of the 22 others, 17 have been contacted, including the son. The other 16 will be quarantined and monitored for the development of symptoms for 14 days from last exposure with the patient.-Photo: SGH/ST