PM Lee urges Singaporeans to stay united in facing coronavirus outbreak

Singapore, Feb 8 (PTI) Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday urged the people of his country not to panic and remain united as the novel coronavirus outbreak which has claimed over 720 lives continues to wreak havoc in China and abroad.

The death toll from the virus outbreak, which first surfaced in Wuhan city in the Central Hubei province of China, has risen to 723 with the confirmed cases soaring to 34,598, including 33 from Singapore.

"We have faced the 2019-nCoV situation for about 2 weeks now. People are understandably anxious & fearful, but there is no need to panic — Singapore has ample supplies. Instead, let us remain united & resolute, stay calm & carry on with our lives," the prime minister said in a tweet.

He advised the Singaporeans to "take courage" and "see through this stressful time together".

Lee said the situation was still evolving, with each day bringing new developments, which Singapore has to respond to promptly and dynamically.

While most of the coronavirus cases in Singapore have either been imported, or linked to imported cases, there have been some that cannot be traced to the source of infection, said Lee.

"These worried us, because it showed that the virus is probably already circulating in our own population," he said.

Singapore moved its disease outbreak response up a level to orange on Friday as the coronavirus spread further within the country, with three new cases announced of unknown origin.

Under the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition, or Dorscon, code orange means the outbreak is deemed to have moderate to high public health impact.

China and countries around the world are scrambling to contain the spread of coronavirus. Apart from China, two deaths have occurred in Hong Kong and the Philippines.

Besides Germany, Britain and Italy, other European nations with cases of the virus include France, Russia, Belgium, Sweden, Finland and Spain.

Meanwhile, a number of exhibitors have withdrawn from next week's Singapore Airshow as of Saturday, with Canadian aerospace firms De Havilland Canada and Viking Air pulling out of the event, as the impact of the coronavirus widened, according to media reports.

Longview Aviation, which manages its subsidiaries De Havilland Canada and Viking Air, said in a statement on Saturday that it will cancel the participation of its subsidiary companies, in light of the increased alert level announced by the Singapore government and the Ministry of Health.

US heavyweight Lockheed Martin said on Friday it will not participate in next week's Singapore Airshow over coronavirus concerns.

"Following the Singapore Ministry of Health's February 7 declaration of a Code Orange health alert, we consulted with the US government and our medical teams and decided not to participate in the Singapore Airshow," the company said in a statement.

The stepped up precautionary measures following the outbreak, however, did little to dampen the mood of thousands of Hindu devotees, who turned out to seek blessings and fulfil their vows in this year's Thaipusam festival, an annual celebration in honour of Lord Subramaniam (also known as Lord Murugan).

The presence of signs reminding people who are unwell not to enter temple premises, as well as thermal scanners and sanitisers were signs that this year's Thaipusam was slightly different from previous years, The Straits Times reported.

But the religious procession went on as usual and drew some 11,500 devotees, the highest participation since 2013, in part helped by Thaipusam falling on a weekend. PTI GS MRJ MRJ