Singapore reports first two Covid-19 deaths

[SINGAPORE] Two patients died from Covid-19 on Saturday morning due to complications, the first deaths the Republic has seen.

A 75-year-old Singaporean woman with a history of chronic heart disease and hypertension died at 7.52am.

She had been admitted to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Feb 23 for pneumonia and was confirmed to have Covid-19 the same day.

She had been in the intensive care unit since and developed serious complications. She died after 26 days in ICU, a Health Ministry statement said.

The second patient is a 64-year-old Indonesian national who was admitted to intensive care on March 13 after arriving in Singapore from Indonesia the same day.

Prior to his arrival, he had been hospitalised in Indonesia for pneumonia and had a history of heart disease.

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He developed serious complications and died after nine days in ICU at 10.15am.

"We are deeply saddened by their passing. Our thoughts are with their families during this difficult time. We will render all necessary assistance to their families," Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Saturday.

"I understand that Singaporeans will be affected by this news. But we must take courage and continue to play our part to fight this virus."

On Friday, Singapore confirmed 40 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of infected patients here to 385.

Speaking to reporters at the Health Ministry on Saturday morning, Mr Gan also reiterated that safe distancing measures which have been announced should be followed.

"We must all take the necessary precautions to keep ourselves and our families safe," he said.

"We must stay united, work together, support one another, look out for each other. This way, by staying together, we will be able to prevail and overcome Covid-19 infection."

In a Facebook post after the two deaths were announced, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sent his deepest condolences to the patients' loved ones.

"As we get more Covid-19 cases, more patients will need ICU care, and we must brace ourselves for more losses," he said.

He said healthcare workers were doing their best to care for their patients.

"So far, 131 of 385 cases have been discharged. Most are gradually improving. The government is doing all we can to slow the spread of the virus, but everyone needs to support and comply with the measures we have put in place. We must work together to keep ourselves, our families, and Singapore safe," he said.

THE STRAITS TIMES