SINGAPORE: The Singapore Government will provide seed funding of S$1 million to groups helping communities in China in the fight against the novel coronavirus that has killed more than 400 people.
"The Singapore Government will be supporting efforts by the Singapore Red Cross, our Singapore Trade Associations and Chambers, companies and local community organisations to launch a public appeal to raise funds to provide humanitarian assistance to the communities in China which have been severely affected by the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak," said the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Tuesday (Feb 4).
AdvertisementAdvertisementMedicine, medical supplies and diagnostic test kits for the coronavirus for use in laboratories will also be provided, MFA added.
The Singapore Red Cross said that it "welcomes" the seed money from the Government.
"We expect the outbreak to continue to spread in China and geographically with the number of new cases rising in the next days and weeks," said Singapore Red Cross secretary general and CEO Benjamin William.
"Our planned response at this point is focused on assisting the communities worst affected in China."
AdvertisementAdvertisement"Singapore wishes China well in its efforts to fight the nCoV (novel coronavirus)," said MFA.
"The viral epidemic is a common threat to all of us.
"Singapore is confident that through close cooperation, China, Singapore and the rest of the international community will overcome this challenge."
[h=3]READ: Hangzhou and Taizhou, cities far from virus epicentre, implement travel restrictions[/h][h=3]READ: China coronavirus death toll soars past 400[/h]The number of confirmed deaths from China's coronavirus outbreak soared past 400 on Tuesday, after authorities in Hubei province reported on Tuesday 64 new fatalities. There was also a sharp increase in confirmed infections with 3,235 new cases, putting the national total at more than 20,400.
The death toll in mainland China now surpasses the number of fatalities from its SARS crisis two decades ago.
More than 20 other countries have reported cases of infections.
There are 24 confirmed cases in Singapore after the Ministry of Health announced its first locally transmitted cases.
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage on the Wuhan coronavirus and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the Wuhan virus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
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