China coronavirus: 3 new cases in both Japan and Singapore as the Philippines, India confirm first infections

A 38-year-old Chinese woman in the Philippines and a student in the Indian state of Kerala have tested positive for the virus

Meanwhile, in Singapore, three more infections have been found – bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 13

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A couple wearing masks sit at a transport hub in Metro Manila on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 4:30pm, 30 Jan 2020Updated: 11:57pm, 7 Apr 2020

The Philippines and India on Thursday confirmed their first cases of the novel coronavirus that has claimed 170 lives and spread around the world since emerging in a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, as three more cases were also reported in Japan and Singapore.

A 38-year-old Chinese woman, who arrived in the Philippines from Wuhan on January 21 after travelling through Hong Kong, was admitted to a government hospital on Saturday with a mild cough and tested positive for the novel virus, Health Secretary Francisco Duque told a news conference.

Chito Avelino, director of the Health Department’s Epidemiology Bureau, said authorities were tracking people who may have been exposed to the patient, who is known to have travelled through the cities of Cebu and Dumaguete.

She was among 23 people who had been screened after exhibiting flu-like symptoms and is currently asymptomatic, Duque said.

Workers wear masks while serving at a restaurant in Paranaque, the Philippines. Photo: Reuters

Of those under investigation, 17 are in Metro Manila and include an HIV-infected man who died of pneumonia, according to CNN Philippines.

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