Singapore reports two Covid-19 deaths

This article is more than 12 months old

Mar 21, 2020 12:33 pm

Two patients died due to complications from Covid-19 on Saturday morning (March 21). These are the first deaths in Singapore related to the infection.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement that the two patients, a 75-year-old Singaporean woman and a 64-year-old Indonesian man, had developed complications due to the coronavirus infection.

The woman was admitted to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Feb 23 for pneumonia, and tested positive for Covid-19 on the same day.

Since admission, she had been in the intensive care unit (ICU). She developed serious complications and died in the ICU at 7.52am on Saturday. She also had a history of chronic heart disease and hypertension.

The Indonesian man arrived in Singapore on March 13, and was admitted in critical condition to the ICU at NCID on the same day. He tested positive for Covid-19 the next day.

He developed serious complications and died at 10.15am on Saturday. Before arriving in Singapore, he had been hospitalised in Indonesia for pneumonia, and had a history of heart disease.

The WHO is currently in the process of conducting an analysis of excess deaths during the pandemic.

World

Over 7m Covid-19 deaths recorded

Feb 05, 2024

Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong said: “We are deeply saddened by their passing. Our thoughts are with their families during this difficult time.

"We will render all necessary assistance to their families. I understand that Singaporeans will be affected by this news. But we must take courage and continue to play our part to fight this virus.”

The Ministry of Health has reached out to the patients' families and is extending assistance to them.

On Friday (March 20), Singapore confirmed 40 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of infected patients here to 385. To date, 131 have recovered and have been discharged.

In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sent his condolences to the patients' loved ones. He added that while Singapore must brace itself for more losses, Singaporeans "must work together to keep ourselves, our families, and Singapore safe".