Singapore

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Singapore Says Coronavirus ‘Clearly Emerging’ as Unlike SARS

Singapore said it’s learning more about the nature of the coronavirus over the past week and it’s “clearly emerging” to be different from SARS.

The coronavirus is actually closer to the H1N1 virus because it spreads more easily than severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs a task force coordinating the city-state’s virus response, said in a briefing on Friday. It also has a mortality rate that’s lower than SARS, he said.

Singapore confirmed nine new cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing the total number to 67. The number of people discharged rose by two to 17.

Here’s what else authorities said:

* Many of the locally-confirmed cases were people who continued to go out into the public when they were already ill, raising the risk of infecting others even as symptoms remained mild, according to a Ministry of Health statement Friday. MOH urged that patients with respiratory symptoms seek medical treatment early and stay home throughout illness

* Wong says authorities are unlikely to continue contact tracing if the situation worsens, but will look at patients who come forward