Singapore reports first two fatalities due to coronavirus
Singapore on Saturday reported two coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, marking the city-state's first fatalities from the infection. The patients who died were a 75-year-old Singaporean woman and a 64-year-old Indonesian man, the health ministry said in a statement. Singapore till date has confirmed 385 cases of the infection and had so far managed to avoid any fatalities since the outbreak began in the city-state in late January.
Meanwhile, Japan has recorded 1,016 cases of domestically transmitted cases of coronavirus as of Saturday, according to public broadcaster NHK, hitting a new milestone as the nation grapples with pressure to avoid a health crisis ahead of Tokyo Olympics.
The tally rises to 1,728 if 712 cases of infections from a cruise ship moored near Tokyo last month are included, according to NHK.
Although the number of cases is still on the rise, Japan has started scaling back some measures to fight the spread of the virus.
On Friday, Japan said it would not extend its request to close schools, setting the stage for classes to resume at the start of the academic year in April.
