Man, 66, from China, first confirmed virus case here
A female Chinese national, 53, may also be infected after testing positive in preliminary tests
In the first confirmed case in Singapore, a man from China has tested positive for the Wuhan virus, and another Chinese national here is also likely to be infected.
The Wuhan resident, 66, arrived here with nine travelling companions on Monday and stayed at Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said at a briefing last night.
A 53-year-old woman, a Chinese national who was not part of the man's group, came up positive in preliminary tests, which are awaiting confirmation.
The man's son, 37, was admitted to hospital as a suspected case, while their companions have left Singapore.
All three were in stable condition and there was no evidence the virus had spread to the community, MOH said.
The announcement came as five cities in Hubei province in central China were locked down yesterday in an attempt to contain the spread of the mysterious 2019-nCoV virus that has been linked to at least 17 deaths and more than 630 infections.
Roads and public transport facilities were closed or suspended in Hubei's capital of Wuhan and four neighbouring cities to prevent millions of people from travelling as the Chinese New Year migration began in earnest.
As the Sars-like virus continues to spread within China and to other countries, a World Health Organisation expert panel was due to meet again last night to decide whether to declare a global emergency.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, told The Straits Times there is no need to panic as Singapore is much better prepared than it was during the Sars outbreak of 2003.
MOH has begun tracing people who may have come into close contact with the infected patient, including those on his flight and in the Sentosa hotel.
After temperature screening was expanded to all air travellers from China on Wednesday, the number of suspected cases has gone up.
MOH said there had been 28 suspected cases, of people aged one to 78 years. Seven of them were cleared after testing negative.
MOH's director of communicable diseases Vernon Lee said at the briefing the first confirmed case had been isolated and was no longer a risk to the public.
"There's no need for the general public to panic or do any special measures, " he added.
The newly formed multi-ministry task force, which met for the first time yesterday, has decided to expand border control and screening to land and sea checkpoints today.
Measures have also stepped up in hospitals, schools and army camps.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who heads the task force with National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, said: "First, we have to ensure that we do what we can in our defensive measures in terms of our border controls, temperature screening and so on, but at the same time, we have multi-layers of defence, including our clinics, hospitals, health institutions and healthcare workers who are at the front line."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
