COVID-19: Local Clusters in Singapore (2020)

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Infographic by MustShare News showing the 6 places that the Chinese tour group visited.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed its first locally transmitted cases on 4 February 2020.[1] This entry clarifies the differences between local and community transmission while compiling the confirmed virus transmission points in Singapore (as of 7 February 2020).

Local vs. Community transmission

The following sections highlight the differences between local and community transmission, as clarified by MOH.

Local transmission[2]

  • Limited spread of infection
  • Common source(s) of transmission
  • Identifiable source(s)

The confirmed Singaporean cases on 4 February 2020 involving the Chinese tour group is considered a limited local spread as they can all be traced back to one location - Yong Thai Hang Medical Hall.[3]

Community transmission[4]

  • Widespread infection
  • Multiple clusters of transmission
  • Unidentifiable sources

Local Clusters (Confirmed)

Local Cluster 1. Yong Thai Hang Medical Hall

The shopfront of Yong Thai Hang Medical Hall. Photo from Channel News Asia.

On 22 January, a group of tourists from Guangxi, China entered Singapore.[5] The group visited at least 6 locations in Singapore the next day.[6] The tour group visited these 6 locations:

  • T Galleria by Duty Free Singapore (25 Scotts Road)
  • Meeting You Restaurant (14 Hamilton Road)
  • D'Resort @ Downtown East (1 Pasir Ris Close)
  • Yong Thai Hang Medical Hall (24 Cavan Road)
  • Royal Dragon Restaurant (2 Havelock Road)
  • Diamond Industries Jewellery Company (20 Harbour Drive)

Certain individuals from this group were carriers of the virus, hence initially infecting 4 Singaporeans who were within close and prolonged contact.

2 confirmed cases in Chinese tour group

As of 5 February 2020, at least 2 of the 20 Chinese tourists have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus.[7]

7 Singaporeans infected by Chinese tour group

There are 7 individuals who are confirmed to have the virus.[8] The first case was confirmed on 3 February. 4 cases were reported on 4 February and 2 were announced on 5 February.[9][10] These cases are considered to be part of a limited local transmission cluster.[11][12]

Case No. Profile Date Tested Positive Relationship Refs.
Case 19 28-year-old female employee at Yong Thai Hang Medical Hall 3 February Employer-Domestic Helper [13]
Case 21 44-year-old female Indonesian national 4 February
Case 20 48-year-old female employee at Yong Thai Hang Medical Hall 4 February -
Case 24 32-year-old female Tour Guide 4 February Husband-Wife
Case 25 40-year-old male employee at Diamond Industries Jewellery Company 4 February
Case 27 45-year-old male 5 February Husband to Case 1 [14]
Case 28 6 month-old child 5 February Child to Case 1 & 6

Local Cluster 2. Grand Hyatt Singapore

The Grand Hyatt is one of the local transmission points in Singapore. Photo from The Straits Times.

109 people were gathered for a private business meeting at Grand Hyatt Singapore from 20 January to 22 January 2020.[15][16] Present at the conference were Chinese nationals from Hubei.[17][18]

3 confirmed international cases

The 3 confirmed cases involve citizens from Malaysia and South Korea.


The 41-year-old individual from Malaysia, who happened to be the country’s first case, was tested positive for the virus on 4 February.[19] His 40-year-old sister was confirmed to be infected on 6 February.[20]


The infected patient from South Korea is a 38-year-old man who tested positive for the virus on 3 February. He had previously shared a meal with the infected Malaysian individual at the meeting.[21]

3 Singaporeans infected

There were a total of 15 Singaporean residents at the conference. 4 individuals of the 15 have displayed symptoms of the virus. These 4 have since been referred to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on 5 February.[22]


As of 10 February, 3 of the 4 being investigated were found to be infected with the coronavirus.[23]

References / Citations

  1. ↑ “CONFIRMED CASES OF LOCAL TRANSMISSION OF NOVEL CORONAVIRUS INFECTION IN SINGAPORE”. Ministry of Health. February 4, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  2. ↑ “FAQs on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation”. Ministry of Health. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  3. ↑ “CONFIRMED CASES OF LOCAL TRANSMISSION OF NOVEL CORONAVIRUS INFECTION IN SINGAPORE”. Ministry of Health. February 4, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  4. ↑ “FAQs on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation”. Ministry of Health. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  5. ↑ Mahmud, Aqil Haziq and Chew, Hui Min. “4 locally transmitted cases among new coronavirus patients in Singapore”. Channel News Asia. February 4, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  6. ↑ Tan, Cheryl. “Four of six places visited by Chinese tour group linked to local coronavirus transmissions closed”. The Straits Times. February 6, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  7. ↑ “CONFIRMED CASES OF LOCAL TRANSMISSION OF NOVEL CORONAVIRUS INFECTION IN SINGAPORE”. Ministry of Health. February 4, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  8. ↑ Tang, See Kit. “What we know about the 5 families among Singapore's confirmed coronavirus cases”. Channel News Asia. February 6, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  9. ↑ Ng, Jun Sen and Lim, Janice. “Novel coronavirus: Singapore reports first local transmissions, 4 cases linked to Jalan Besar shop visited by Chinese tour groups”. Today. February 4, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  10. ↑ Chee, Kenny. “Coronavirus: Singapore confirms 4 new cases, including 6-month-old child of infected couple”. The Straits Times. February 5, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  11. ↑ Mahmud, Aqil Haziq and Yong, Michael. “What we know about the locally transmitted coronavirus cases in Singapore”. Channel News Asia. February 4, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  12. ↑ “FOUR MORE CONFIRMED CASES OF NOVEL CORONAVIRUS INFECTION IN SINGAPORE”. Ministry of Health. February 5, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  13. ↑ “CONFIRMED CASES OF LOCAL TRANSMISSION OF NOVEL CORONAVIRUS INFECTION IN SINGAPORE”. Ministry of Health. February 4, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  14. ↑ “FOUR MORE CONFIRMED CASES OF NOVEL CORONAVIRUS INFECTION IN SINGAPORE”. Ministry of Health. February 5, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  15. ↑ Geddie, John. “WHO probes Singapore meet linked to spread of virus”. Reuters. 6 February 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  16. ↑ "More than 100 people attended meeting at Grand Hyatt Singapore linked to Malaysia, South Korea coronavirus cases". Channel News Asia. February 5, 2020 (updated 6 February 2020). Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  17. ↑ “Novel coronavirus: 2 more cases in S’pore, including one with no travel history to China or apparent”. Today. February 6, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  18. ↑ Kamil, Asyraf. “WHO probes Singapore conference linked to coronavirus spread”. The Straits Times. 7 February 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  19. ↑ Sukumaran, Tashny. “Coronavirus cases in South Korea and Malaysia linked to Singapore meeting spark WHO investigation”. South China Morning Post. February 5, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  20. ↑ Sukumaran, Tashny. “Coronavirus: Malaysia confirms first case of human transmission from Singapore meeting, taking tally to 14”. South China Morning Post. February 6, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  21. ↑ “3 new coronavirus cases in South Korea; 2 men had travelled to Singapore for conference”. Channel News Asia. February 5, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  22. ↑ “FOUR MORE CONFIRMED CASES OF NOVEL CORONAVIRUS INFECTION IN SINGAPORE”. Ministry of Health. February 5, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
  23. ↑ “Coronavirus: Singapore confirms 2 new local infections; 1 appears to have no link to previous cases”. The Straits Times. February 6, 2020. Accessed on 7 February 2020.
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