Updated February 9th, 2020 at 11:18 IST

Singapore evacuates 174 people on second flight from coronavirus-hit Wuhan

A second evacuation flight is bringing back another 174 Singaporeans and their family members from the virus hit Wuhan in China to Singapore on February 9.

Reported by: Sounak Mitra
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A second evacuation flight is bringing back another 174 Singaporeans and their family members from the virus hit Wuhan in China to Singapore on the morning of February 9, according to Singapore's foreign ministry. It had evacuated 92 Singapore nationals from Wuhan that has been under effective quarantine and some of them have been since been confirmed as infected. 

In order to take precautionary measures, the passengers who are returning will have to go through medical screening upon arrival at Singapore's Changi Airport, according to the foreign ministry.

READ: Coronavirus Death Toll Rises To 811 In China, Exceeds SARS Fatalities

Passengers to be quarantined for 14 days

Those found with fever or respiratory symptoms will be taken to designated hospitals for further treatment and the rest of the passengers will be quarantined for 14 days. It added that the flight also took some Chinese nationals back home to Wuhan. 
Singapore has reportedly raised the risk assessment level on the deadly coronavirus outbreak from Yellow to Orange as they saw three more cases with no confirmed travel history to China or links to the past cases on February 6.

The total number of cases in Singapore rose to 33, making it the country with the second-highest number of cases of coronavirus after China. Ministry of Health reportedly said that the Code Orange has been issued because of heightened risk. This is the second time Singapore has issued Code Orange and the first was for swine flu back in 2019, as per the reports.

READ: WHO-led Coronavirus Probe Team To Leave For China On Monday Or Tuesday

811 died, more than 37500 infected

Coronavirus has claimed at least 811 lives in China, as per the latest government reports. The government reported more deaths on Friday morning, leading to the crisis worsening. The Chinese government also reported that the number of people infected has crossed 37,500 across the country. The outbreak took place in Wuhan in January and multiple countries have started evacuating their citizens from the country, and have decided to restrict the entry of foreigners returning from China. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus as a 'global public health emergency'. 

READ: Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Nepal Donates 1 Lakh Masks To China

READ: France Confirms Five British Nationals Have Tested Positive For Coronavirus

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Published February 9th, 2020 at 11:18 IST