SINGAPORE: Two patients in Singapore have died from complications due to COVID-19, the first deaths in the country linked to the infection.
The patients – a 75-year-old Singaporean woman and 64-year-old Indonesian man – died on Saturday morning (Mar 21), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe woman, known as Case 90, was linked to the cluster at The Life Church and Missions Singapore, and had a history of chronic heart disease and hypertension.
She reported the onset of symptoms on Feb 9 and was admitted on Feb 23 to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) for pneumonia. She tested positive for COVID-19 on the same day.
She developed serious complications and died on Saturday at about 7.50am, after 26 days in the ICU.
The second patient, known as Case 212, was a 64-year-old Indonesian man with a history of heart disease.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHe was admitted in critical condition to NCID on Mar 13, after arriving in Singapore from Indonesia on the same day, and was confirmed to have COVID-19 the following day.
He developed serious complications and died on Saturday at 10.15am, after nine days in the ICU.
Prior to his arrival in Singapore, he had been hospitalised in Indonesia for pneumonia.
[h=3]READ: 40 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, including 30 imported infections[/h]The Ministry of Health said it has reached out to the patients' families and is extending help to them.
“While we all know that there will be fatalities in COVID patients, we are deeply saddened by their passing," said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong.
"I know Singaporeans will be worried and anxious. We must take courage and not give in to our fears. We have announced a series of safe distancing measures yesterday, and we must all take the necessary precautions to keep ourselves and our families safe," he said.
He added that Singapore must stay united, work together, support one another and look out for each other.
"This way, by staying together, we will be able to prevail and overcome COVID 19 infection."
[h=3]READ: All events, gatherings with 250 participants or more must be suspended to reduce further COVID-19 spread: MOH[/h][h=3]READ: Singapore launches TraceTogether mobile app to boost COVID-19 contact tracing efforts[/h]Singapore on Friday announced 40 new COVID-19 cases, of which 30 were imported infections.
As of Friday night, 385 people have tested positive for the coronavirus. A total of 131 patients have fully recovered from the disease and have been discharged.
To reduce the risk of further local transmissions, authorities on Friday ordered all events and gatherings with 250 or more participants to be suspended.
New safe distancing measures were introduced for public venues such as retail shops and restaurants to ensure separation of at least 1m between customers.
A new TraceTogether mobile app was also launched to help with contact tracing efforts.
[h=3]Explore our interactive: All the COVID-19 cases in Singapore and the clusters and links between them [/h]The novel coronavirus is believed to have started in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province late last year, but has spread to more than 100 countries.
It has since killed more than 11,000 people and infected more than 260,000 worldwide. While the rate of infection in China has slowed, the outbreak is now spreading rapidly in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe and the US.
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the novel coronavirus and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...