Abstract
We describe events leading to and actions taken to address a newly diagnosed COVID-19 case, admitted as dengue on the general ward. A risk Stratification strategy of patients into high, medium and low risk was considered for the isolation and COVID-19 swabbing strategies. Additional measures for cleaning and ward lockdown were also employed. There were a total of 191 exposures; 68 staff, 39 inpatients and the rest were community contacts. There was no transmission of COVID-19 in the 14 days following exposure, suggesting that a universal surgical mask and hand hygiene strategy in place at that time was sufficient in preventing transmission. The built environment of adequate bed-space and natural ventilation were other important considerations.
Highlights
We describe events leading to and actions taken to address a newly diagnosed COVID-19 case, admitted as dengue in an open, multi-bedded general ward
All of the high risk patients had been swabbed multiple times and all swabs were negative for COVID-19
All of these patients had been served with a quarantine order, which is a regulatory order governed by the Infectious Diseases Act
Summary
In December 2019, several cases of pneumonia of unknown aetiology had been reported in Wuhan, Hubei province, China.[1] On the 7th January 2020, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed the discovery of a novel coronavirus. COVID-19 and dengue infection have many similar clinical characteristics including fever and myalgia, as well as haematological features such as thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and occasionally transaminitis.[5] Singapore has been experiencing a dengue outbreak over the last 2 years with multiple “hotspots” often occurring throughout the island, one of which was the area our hospital is located in at the time of writing this report.[6]
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