The coronavirus outbreak in China appears to have been controlled successfully by health authorities in the country, while other countries are still starting to record new cases and new deaths.
Singapore Reports First Deaths
On Saturday, the Singaporean Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that two CoVID-19 patients succumbed to the novel coronavirus in the morning, Channel News Asia reported.
The two deaths are the first time in the city-state that the novel coronavirus took lives, as Singapore only saw confirmed cases but over the past weeks, most of the cases were treated and there were significant recoveries for those who had mild symptoms.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has since expressed his condolences to the bereaved through social media. He said that citizens should expect more deaths and more people to be brought to intensive care units.
The city-state now has a total of 385 confirmed CoVID-19 cases, two deaths, and 131 recovered patients.
WHO Calls Wuhan's Recovery a 'Success'
World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that the recovery of CoVID-19 origin city Wuhan was a "success."
According to Xinhua, Tedros said the recent developments in Wuhan, the epicenter of China's coronavirus outbreak, are shining a ray of hope around the world and sending a message that even in worst-case scenarios, the crisis can be resolved.
Tedros' comments came after Wuhan reported zero cases for the first time since the CoVID-19 strain was discovered in a seafood market in the city within China's Hubei Province. The zero-case report has been going on for two consecutive days.
Some medical staff from other regions across China have also started moving back home as the situation in the city has reached a reasonable level of stability.
Japan Passes 1,000 in Local Transmissions
In Japan, the CoVID-19 infection toll has passed 1,000. The country now has a total of 1,016 locally-transmitted infections, with 43 deaths as of Friday.
When added with the 712 total cases from the infected Diamond Princess, Japan now has a total of 1,728 CoVID-19 cases. The increase in local transmissions has raised questions on whether the Tokyo Olympics should still proceed or not.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and organizers of the sports meet have repeatedly said over the past few weeks that the upcoming Olympics will push through as planned starting July 24.
South Korea's CoVID-19 Situation Sees a Second Spike
A new wave of coronavirus cases popped up in South Korea over the past 24 hours, with 147 being recorded on Friday. There were also new clusters found around the country, with most being imported cases, Yonhap News reported.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the new cases are the second-highest this week after 152 new patients were infected with the disease on Wednesday.
Some of the new clusters discovered by health experts include nursing hospitals in Daegu and a call center in the Guro district in Seoul. There was also a cluster found around North Gyeongsang Province.
Daegu is the center of South Korea's CoVID-19 outbreak. The country now has a total of 8,799 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Friday and 104 deaths.
