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ROME • Two Italians became the first Europeans to die after being infected with the coronavirus, as local towns were locked down following a flurry of new cases. The first death was that of a 78-year-old retired bricklayer from the Veneto region, Mr Adriano Trevisan, who tested positive and died on Friday in hospital, where […]

KIEV • Ukraine’s health minister joined evacuees from China in quarantine in a sanatorium on Friday – in a show of solidarity after fears over the possible spread of the coronavirus led to clashes between protesters and the police. Posting a selfie on her Facebook page, Ms Zoriana Skaletska said she would spend two weeks […]

Statements he made need not be accurate because they were not sworn ones, said Mr Lee Hsien Yang, when asked why his statements on Facebook and in public were at odds with his testimony. The Disciplinary Tribunal looking at misconduct on the part of his wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern, said in its report that […]

WUHAN • A 20-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, travelled 675km north to Anyang where she infected five relatives, without ever showing signs of infection, Chinese scientists reported on Friday, offering new evidence that the virus can be spread asymptomatically. Their study, published in the Journal Of The American Medical […]

Lawyer Lee Suet Fern has been found guilty by a disciplinary tribunal of grossly improper professional conduct in her handling of the last will of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister and her father-in-law. Her case will be referred to the Court of Three Judges, the highest disciplinary body to deal with lawyers’ […]

1. WASH HANDS MORE OFTEN The simple task of washing hands is now serious business. Experts, knowing that the coronavirus is transmitted mainly via droplets and physical contact, advise hand hygiene in the fight against Covid-19. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Learn more about ST PREMIUM. Enjoy unlimited access […]

Q My grades are good, but not good enough to get into the competitive courses such as computing or business, so I am hoping to get into university through aptitude-based admissions. How is it done? And how can I prepare myself for it, especially for the personal essay and interview? A Those hoping to land […]

Hawkers have welcomed the Government’s move to introduce rental waivers in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, although a number hope more will be done to defray the drop in business caused by smaller crowds. Mr Afiq Rezza, 30, whose family’s stall at Block 724 Ang Mo Kio Food Centre is known for its mee […]

Making remarks which hurt the religious or racial feelings of any community is uncalled for even if done privately, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli said yesterday. Referring to recent online posts by religious teacher Abdul Halim Abdul Karim, Mr Masagos told The Sunday Times the Government is serious in dealing with hate speech. Mr […]

Before they could march into the wedding hall in the evening yesterday, Ms Rahimah Rashith and her husband Soufyan Zakhnini had their temperatures taken and filled out their names and contact numbers on a contact sheet. All their guests at the Changi-Simei Community Building did likewise after Singapore raised its alert level to orange in […]

The coronavirus outbreak is a test of Singapore’s social cohesion and psychological resilience, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as the country announced seven new confirmed cases yesterday. It is the biggest jump reported in a single day, bringing the total number of people infected here to 40. Four are in critical condition, the Ministry […]

At least 17 people were killed and 21 wounded in a shooting by a soldier in the north-eastern Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima, a police spokesman said in a message sent to reporters yesterday. Police identified the suspect as Jakrapanth Thomma. He had posted on his Facebook page earlier in the day that “Death is […]

Political leaders and experts have come out in force to call for calm and urge people to be responsible, following a second day of panic buying of provisions at stores here. Photos and videos of empty supermarket shelves and people purchasing large amounts of food flooded social media, after Singapore raised its response level to […]

Buy what you need, without hoarding, as there are adequate supplies of food and other essentials, said supermarket chain FairPrice’s group chief executive Seah Kian Peng yesterday. FairPrice has over nine million rolls of toilet paper, 1.2 million packs of instant noodles and four million kg of rice, with more coming in through routine daily […]

Toilet paper rolls, rice, instant noodles, cooking oil and other essentials are among the items flying off supermarket shelves amid concerns over the coronavirus, even as stores work steadily to restock products and reassure shoppers that there is no shortage. A check of more than 10 supermarkets across Singapore yesterday morning saw larger than usual […]

We have faced the new coronavirus (nCoV) situation for about two weeks now. The Ministerial Task Force, advised by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, has been leading the Government’s response to this outbreak. They have been dealing with new developments every day, and holding regular press briefings to keep Singaporeans informed every step of […]

Singapore will have to reconsider its strategy if the number of coronavirus cases continues to grow, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday. “If the virus is widespread, it is futile to try to trace every contact. If we still hospitalise and isolate every suspect case, our hospitals will be overwhelmed,” he said in a […]

A taxi driver and a private-hire car driver are among the seven new coronavirus cases in Singapore announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday. None of the seven – six Singaporeans and a permanent resident – has recent travel history to China. Among them, the taxi driver, 64, and private-hire car driver, 53, both […]

SHANGHAI • Expatriates are leaving coronavirus-hit China – and not just from the outbreak epicentre in Wuhan – as worries about their children take hold and private healthcare facilities start turning away the feverish. Some foreigners also fear being trapped indefinitely as airlines cancel flights and countries quarantine or limit entry for people who have […]

PHUKET • The narrow laneways and pastel-coloured shophouses of Phuket Old Town are usually bustling with Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year holiday, but travel bans and local fears about the coronavirus have largely emptied the streets this year. Just a handful of tourists, many wearing face masks, strolled through the area during daylight […]

NANCHANG • Though many factories across China remain empty amid a mass quarantine campaign to curb the novel coronavirus from spreading, companies that produce masks are going all out to churn out much-needed supplies. China produces around 50 per cent of the world’s masks. However, the current outbreak has increased public demand and put great […]

The transport and tourism sectors, worst hit by the coronavirus situation, will get targeted help in the coming Budget on top of broader measures to address any wider economic slowdown, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday. The measures will aim to address companies’ short-term cashflow needs, and retain and train workers in the […]

The first day of mask distribution at about 200 residents’ committee (RC) centres around Singapore went smoothly, despite initial concerns of a rush at collection points. At several RCs The Sunday Times visited, there were next to no queues and volunteers handing out masks often outnumbered the residents collecting them. The Government on Thursday announced […]

Singapore’s immigration officers have performed well under pressure, even as more checks have been progressively rolled out to contain the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday. “We have had to put in additional measures to check travel history and symptoms… (though) we don’t have that much additional […]

China is doing all it can to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and Singapore’s efforts will complement this, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. “We know that China is doing all it can to contain the spread of the virus. Singapore has been countering the novel coronavirus by isolating suspected cases and conducting contact […]

Less than a month in, Singapore’s transport and tourism industries are already badly hit by the Wuhan virus situation. Ms Julie Cheong, president of the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union, said that while usual occupancy rates for this period can go up to 80 per cent, they are now only around 60 per cent. […]

BEIJING • China’s Premier Li Keqiang has asked the European Union to facilitate China’s urgent procurement of medical supplies from member countries, the Chinese government said yesterday, amid a coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 250 people. The number of deaths from the epidemic in China has risen by 46 to 259, the country’s health […]

SHANGHAI • More countries have restricted travel from China over the coronavirus epidemic – moves which have been described as an “overreaction” by some in Beijing. The US announced measures on Friday to ban foreign nationals who have recently been in China from entering their territories. The Trump administration also ordered citizens returning from central […]

Young people with a dream to make a difference to the lives of Singaporeans will now have a chance to pitch their ideas to relevant government or industry agencies. The best 12 ideas can each get up to $50,000 in grants to kick-start the projects. Those with a cause to champion or a suggestion to […]