COVID-19: Case Dies More Than 2 Weeks After Recovery; Blood Clot In Lung Artery Said To Be Cause Of Death

A 41-year-old man who has recovered from COVID-19 died from complications due to the virus infection more than two weeks after being discharged, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (6 June). The case is Singapore’s youngest COVID-19 casualty.

Singapore’s youngest COVID-19 casualty

The Chinese national, identified as case 11714, died on Thursday (4 June) and is the 25th person in Singapore to die from complications due to COVID-19. 

According to MOH, the man had recovered from the infection and was discharged on 17 May. He collapsed on 4 June and the Coroner has certified that the cause of death was massive pulmonary thromboembolism following SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 is the strain of coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Image source: File

Mayo Clinic defines pulmonary embolism is a blockage in one of the pulmonary arteries in your lungs. In most cases, pulmonary embolism is caused by blood clots that travel to the lungs from deep veins in the legs or, rarely, from veins in other parts of the body (deep vein thrombosis).

No other information was provided about the case. 

COVID-19 Patients With Blood Clots and Heart Disease

In a written reply to Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leon Perera’s question on patients with COVID-19 experiencing above-average rates of blood clots and heart disease, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said the ministry has issued an advisory to all doctors on 20 May to highlight the emerging data on these risks. Mr Gan said doctors have been advised to be “watchful” for cardiovascular symptoms in COVID-19 patients, and to provide guidance on the evaluation and management of such patients.

About 1 in 1000 experienced cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and blood clots so far, Mr Gan said.

Citing international data, Mr Gan added that COVID-190 patients admitted to the intensive care unit are at higher risk, “as they are immobile for prolonged periods and may have multiple co-morbidities.”

Image source: National University Hospital/Facebook

Doctors here should take “take extra precautions such as monitoring [the propensity for the blood to clot] closely,” he said.

In some cases, anti-coagulants or blood thinners are used to prevent blood clot formation. “However, use of anti-coagulants must be weighed against the risk of bleeding, and our doctors will decide on a case by case basis,” Mr Gan added.

“As COVID-19 is a new disease, we are learning more about it as we go along. MOH will continue to monitor the emerging evidence, and work with our clinical experts to ensure the best possible care and outcomes for our COVID-19 patients” Mr Gan concluded.

Additional 344 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore on Saturday

MOH has confirmed and verified an additional 344 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore on Saturday (6 June). Of the new cases, 7 are community cases including three Singaporeans/Permanent Residents (PR), and four work permit holders.

“Of the 7 cases in the community, 5 are asymptomatic, but we had swabbed them as part of our proactive surveillance and screening,” MOH said.

Amongst the 3 Singaporeans/PRs, one is a family member of a previously confirmed case, and had already been quarantined earlier. Another is a cleaner at the preschool section of an international school and was tested as part of the government’s proactive screening of preschool staff. Meanwhile, epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining case Singaporean/PR case.

Meanwhile, all 4 Work Permit holders had been picked up as a result of proactive screening. Of these, three cases were tested as part of our efforts to screen workers in essential services, and one case was tested as part of our screening of migrant workers deployed at public healthcare institutions. The patient had been doing building maintenance works at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and had not interacted with hospital staff or patients. 

A case from the public healthcare sector was also reported on Saturday.

The patient, a 27-year-old male Singapore Citizen who has no recent travel history to affected countries or regions. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 5 June, and is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. He is employed as a physiotherapist at Tampines Polyclinic but had not gone to work since onset of symptoms, MOH said.

Separately, 350 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. According to MOH, a total of 24,559 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

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