SINGAPORE (Feb 6): Although the easing of US-China trade tensions was a signal of “green shoots” in a troubled global economy, the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) is now the latest threat to an economic recovery.
As at Feb 6, the total number of confirmed virus cases in Singapore stands at 28. Seven of these cases involved local transmissions, with the infected patients claiming they hadnot travelled to China recently. However, the Ministry of Health has maintained that there is no evidence of widespread community transmission in Singapore just yet.
With the Budget slated to be announced on Feb 18, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has noted that the Wuhan virus outbreak is expected to affect Singapore's economy this year, and the government will implement measures to support businesses.