A worker at the casino in Resorts World Sentosa has been confirmed as infected with the novel coronavirus, a disease now officially known as Covid-19, said on Tuesday the health authorities in Singapore. The property (pictured in a file photo) is run by Genting Singapore Ltd, a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd.
Singapore’s Ministry of Health said the total number of coronavirus cases detected in the city-state as of Tuesday stood at 47.
It added that the casino worker – known as ‘case 46’ – was a 35-year-old male Singapore permanent resident. The man had not been to China recently; Wuhan, in China’s Hubei province, is believed to be the source of the novel coronavirus, which already killed more than 1,000 people.
The casino worker first reported symptoms on February 5 but only went for check at a local healthcare clinic on February 9. He was transferred to a hospital and isolated. The man was confirmed as infected with the novel coronavirus on February 10, according to the Singaporean health authorities.
Prior to hospital admission, he had gone to work at Resorts World Sentosa casino, stated the Ministry of Health in a press release.
Management at Resorts World Sentosa told media outlet CNA it had identified an unspecified number of workers who had been recently in contact with the infected employee. Management added that these workers had been instructed to go on 14 days of leave of absence.
“Deep cleaning, thorough disinfection and sanitisation have been carried out at all areas and touchpoints where the employee had come into contact with,” management added, quoted by CNA. It had previously been announced that the frequency of disinfection work in the property would be increased, in response to the coronavirus alert.
According to the media outlet, Resorts World Sentosa representatives did not provide detail on the role held by the infected casino worker at the casino.
Genting Singapore is scheduled to announce on wednesday (February 12) its forth quarter results.
Authorities in Singapore confirmed on January 23 the city’s first case of viral pneumonia linked to the newly-identified coronavirus.
Singapore has two casino complexes: Resorts World Sentosa, operated by Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd, a unit of Genting Singapore; and Marina Bay Sands, operated by Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd, a unit of United States-based Las Vegas Sands Corp.