Two more cases of novel coronavirus infection have been registered in Singapore, bringing the total number of those infected to 18, the city-state's Health Ministry said on Saturday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2020) Two more cases of novel coronavirus infection have been registered in Singapore, bringing the total number of those infected to 18, the city-state's Health Ministry said on Saturday.
"As of 1 February 2020, 2pm [06:00 GMT], the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed two additional imported cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection in Singapore. Sixteen confirmed cases were earlier announced by MOH," the ministry said in a statement.
The 17th and 18th cases are two women, aged 31 and 47 who have both arrived from China's Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic.
The Singaporean health authorities have recommended their citizens to refrain from visiting mainland China in general and the Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, in particular.
"MOH will continue to monitor the situation closely. As medical practitioners are on the lookout for cases with pneumonia who have recently been in China, Singapore is likely to see more suspect cases that will need to be investigated," the ministry said.
The new strain of deadly 2019-nCoV was first detected in Wuhan in late December and has since spread to more than 20 countries. The virus has already killed 259 people in China and infected about 12,000 others, prompting authorities from various countries to evacuate their nationals from the virus-affected areas.
The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on Thursday in light of the outbreak.
