Singapore reported a total of 50 confirmed infection of coronavirus which is now officially called COVID-19. Next to Japan, the Lion City has the highest confirmed cases outside China.
Japan, however, has cases that include passengers onboard the Diamond Princess cruise which is docked in its Yokohama port. Singapore has local transmissions more than cases involving people coming from China. Hence, attention is more focused on the city-state.
To date, Singapore is waiting for results for 125 suspected cases. Of the 50 confirmed cases, more than half were infected inside Singapore. These patients do not have a travel history in China.
South Korea advised citizens against traveling to Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The local government said the move is aimed at preventing further coronavirus (now officially named COVID-19) infections in the country. Reports weren't immediately clear if the country will also ban travelers who are coming from these countries.
Israel has also similar travel restrictions in place, including Thailand, Macau, and Hong Kong. Kuwait and Qatar, meanwhile, restrict travel to Singapore.
Indonesia and Taiwan, meanwhile, advised nationals to observe precautions when traveling to Singapore. Taiwan also advised against travel to Thailand, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Singapore found itself at the center of travel restrictions among its fellow Asian nations after attendees of a business meeting at the Grand Hyatt hotel resulted in local transmissions in the country. The same meeting was also blamed for infections of COVID-19 in South Korea and Malaysia, and with a Britsih man who spread the virus in France.
Singapore also had cases of infections where patients visited local spiritual and wellness places. Asked for comments regarding travel restrictions, the country's tourism board said there shouldn't be reasons for such measures because the country is addressing the matter appropriately.
One step Singapore takes is working with Malaysia in establishing a joint working group aimed at fighting COVID-19. The country has called for other nations to work with them as well.
The World Health Organization does not encourage travel restrictions because such measures promote discrimination against certain countries, race or nationality. The organization officially named the virus COVID-19 to avoid associating it to a region or race, therefore avoiding racism and xenophobia.
Meanwhile, Japan's number of confirmed cases is now 203. Of that, 174 were infected on board the Diamond Princess, including 40 more passengers and crew.
The cruise ship has around 3,700 passengers from 56 countries. So far, the infected people on the ship included 21 Japanese, eight Americans, five Australians, five Canadians, one Argentinean, and one from the U.K.
Hoalland America, meanwhile, was allowed to dock in cambodia. More than 2,000 cruise passengers and crew are stranded on seas as different nations refused to take them. The Holland America Line Westerdam was already denied ports in the US territory of Guam, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan.
As more countries report new cases, experts warned that COVID-19 outbreak is just beginning outside China, meaning it will spread in more countries as days pass by.
Air China, which used to fly people to Athens, Greece three times a week, canceled all its flights to ensure no further infection could take place.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the COVID-19 may take a foothold in the U.S. in the coming days. Dr. Nancy Messonier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, warned that the country should prepare for community outbreaks.
To date, the US confirmed its 14 confirmed case in California. The patient is one of those who were evacuated from Hubei.
In UK, London reported its first case. The patient, who got infected in China, became the ninth case all over the U.K.
In Spain, all 19 Spanish citizens evacuated from the mainland were discharged from the hospital after testing negative for the coronavirus.
Russia reported that one patient recovered from the disease. The patient, a Chinese national, was discharged from a hospital in Siberia.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis has prayed for victims of the COVID-19 worldwide.
"May they find the road to recovery as soon as possible," Pope said at the Vatican.
COVID-19 has also affected deliveries of postal worldwide as flights continue to get canceled. The US Postal Service has already issued correspondence to its counterpart worldwide that it can no longer deliver most of the letters, parcels, and mails to China. The same is happening in Hong Kong and Macau.
Due to the difficulty, UPS said it will stop accepting items intended for China, Hong Kong, and Macau temporarily. UPS's counterpart in Singapore has already issued similar correspondence.
South Africa's postal service has already informed counterparts of delays while Austria can only receive emails from China but will no longer accept outbound items. Sweden could no longer send mails to China.
The same delay is experienced elsewhere, including North Korea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
