Asia

First Case of Coronavirus From China Reportedly Confirmed in Singapore

Chinese authorities earlier reported an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan in the central province of Hubei.
Sputnik

Singapore has confirmed first case of the Wuhan coronavirus virus, the Ministry of Health said at a briefing on Thursday.

According to the ministry, a Chinese national has tested positive for the Wuhan virus in Singapore.

The patient is a 66-year-old man and Wuhan resident, who arrived in Singapore with nine travelling companions on Monday, and stayed at the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa resort, the Ministry of Health said.

"All measures will be taken to contain its possible spread," said the ministry's director of communicable diseases, Associate Professor Vernon Lee, as quoted by the Straits Times.

"There's no need for the general public to panic or take any special measures," he added.

In a separate development, two cases of deadly coronavirus have been confirmed in Vietnam, Reuters reported, citing the country's Health Ministry. 

The unknown type of pneumonia was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December. Chinese experts later tentatively determined that this was a new strain of coronavirus, currently labeled 2019-nCoV or Novel Coronavirus.

At present, the number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus form in China has risen to at least 571. Confirmed cases of the new coronavirus have also been recorded in the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand.

Starting Thursday, Wuhan authorities suspended public transport in and out of the city to prevent the spread of the virus.

 

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