SINGAPORE – A 32-year-old female worker, who is linked to an earlier patient from the Philippines, is Singapore’s 11th novel coronavirus case involving a Filipino.

The new Filipino coronavirus patient in Singapore is identified as Case 256, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday evening, March 17.

The new Filipino patient has no recent travel history to countries or regions affected by the coronavirus, said the MOH. She was diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, on Tuesday, and is now confined at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

Case 256 is linked to Case 205.

Case 205 is a 30-year-old Filipina who visited the Philippines from February 27 to March 6. She tested positive for the coronavirus on March 14, and is classified as an imported case.

On Tuesday, the MOH reported another imported case from the Philippines, this time involving a 30-year-old female Singaporean. Identified as Case 259, the Singaporean was in the Philippines from March 7 to 9, and tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning.

The Philippines is one of the countries that have exported coronavirus cases to Singapore, which is now experiencing a surge of imported cases from Southeast Asia and Europe. Before this, when the city-state was dealing mostly with local cases, Singapore had fewer new patients each day.

On Tuesday, Singapore recorded its highest number of new cases in a day – 23 patients, of which 17 are imported cases. (READ: Singapore cautions nationals vs traveling to Philippines)

To stop this wave of imported cases, Singapore tightened border restrictions against affected countries. Filipinos entering Singapore, if coming from the Philippines, now need to stay home for 14 days after entry into the city-state. Penalties include prosecution under Section 21A of Singapore’s Infectious Disease Act, and revocation of their work or reentry permits.

Recent Filipino coronavirus cases here include a 28-year-old Filipina preschool teaching staff member, who is linked to a 32-year-old American male who had been in Japan from February 29 to March 8. Others include two Filipina domestic workers under the same employer who also contracted COVID-19. (READ: Coronavirus sa Singapore: Tips para sa mga Pilipino)

Singapore has had 266 coronavirus cases as of Tuesday evening. At least 114 of these cases have fully recovered from COVID-19. Most other patients are stable and improving in the hospital, while 14 are in critical condition. – Rappler.com