Source:
https://scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3048549/coronavirus-three-new-cases-confirmed-japan-two-singapore Southeast Asia
Coronavirus: three new cases confirmed in Japan, two in Singapore
- A 47-year-old woman is the second Singaporean to test positive for the virus, while the new strain has sickened three more Wuhan returnees in Japan
- Malaysia will soon evacuate its citizens from the virus-stricken city as it received the green light from the mainland officials
Singapore army personnel prepare face masks at SAFTI Military Institute, before distributing them around the country, in Singapore, January 31, 2020. Photo: Handout
Singapore reported two more cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the city state to 18, while the new strain has sickened three more people in Japan.
One of the latest cases is a 47-year-old Singaporean woman who travelled to Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak, and is among the republic’s residents evacuated from the central Chinese city on January 30. She is the second Singaporean to be infected with the virus.
The other patient is a 31-year-old Chinese national who arrived in Singapore on January 22. Both were placed in isolation at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.
The health ministry said that laboratory tests for 25 suspected cases are pending and 231 other cases have tested negative for the virus.
Meanwhile, deputy prime minister Heng Swee Keat said that measures will be announced in this year’s budget for sectors, including the transport and tourism industries that have been hit by the epidemic.
The budget will be delivered by Heng on February 18.
Three more returnees from Wuhan have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Japanese health ministry said, increasing the number of confirmed cases in the country to 20.
They are among the 560 Japanese nationals who returned from the virus-stricken city on chartered flights earlier in the week and are in addition to 17 people already found to have been infected with the pneumonia-causing virus in the East Asian nation.
Malaysia will soon evacuate 78 of its citizens from Wuhan as it received the green light from the Chinese authorities, Malaysian ambassador to China, Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, said.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Kuala Lumpur will send a plane with masks and other supplies to the Chinese city while picking up its citizens.
Additional reporting by Kyodo