Nurse who has Covid-19 did not attend to any infected patients at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, says CEO
SINGAPORE — A Filipina nurse from Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) who is now infected with Covid-19 had not, in the last 14 days, attended to patients infected with the coronavirus.
Mr Foo Hee Jug, the hospital’s chief executive officer, said in a statement on Wednesday (March 11) that while at work, the nurse had complied with guidelines to don personal protective equipment and infection control measures.
The 35-year-old nurse, identified as Case 167 by the Ministry of Health (MOH), had gone on a trip to the Philippines from Feb 11 to 17 with her 37-year-old spouse, who is also infected now and known as Case 178.
The nurse had been at work from Feb 18 and was well, complying with daily temperature taking and monitoring her health, Mr Foo said.
This was until March 8, when she developed a cough and she sought “prompt medical attention at our staff clinic the next morning”, Mr Foo added.
From Feb 23 to March 2, her husband had gone on a solo trip to the Philippines after the couple returned to Singapore in mid-February, the hospital said. MOH said that the Filipino and Singapore work pass holder was there to visit a relative with pneumonia, who has since died.
Mr Foo said that both the nurse and her husband are now being cared for in isolation rooms at the hospital, and were both admitted on Tuesday.
The couple were among the 12 new cases announced on Wednesday. The nurse’s husband has been classified as an imported case among the eight announced — the largest number of imported cases reported in a day so far.
The hospital has since reached out to its emergency department employees and will be monitoring the team closely in the days ahead, it said. Contact tracing is also underway.
It has also disinfected all the common areas used by staff members in the emergency department, such as the changing rooms, toilets, pantry, rest spaces and lifts.
“We will continue with daily checks and audits on infection control practices and personal protective equipment compliance and will remind all staff to adhere to measures to safeguard patients and fellow colleagues,” Mr Foo said.
