Singapore: The Wuhan virus, now officially called 2019-nCoV, has been scaring a lot of people, especially in East Asia. Singapore which has close ties with China receives many visitors from the Middle Kingdom. It is therefore not surprising that it was one of the first countries outside of China to report cases of the virus. This has unnerved many residents in the city-state who still vividly remember SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), the last major coronavirus pandemic to sweep the country which resulted in 32 deaths between November 2002 and July 2003.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 8,098 people in 32 countries were affected by SARS with 775 fatalities. The Wuhan virus is suspected to have first spread from snakes to humans in a seafood and wildlife market in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in late December last year. As at the time of writing this article, Canada became the 16th country or territory to have reported cases. Countries affected so far include Australia, France, Japan, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Vietnam, China, and Hong Kong. So far, over 2,000 people have been infected, of which 56 have died.