Singapore will deny from Monday entry or transit to visitors who have been in Italy, France, Spain or Germany in the last 14 days, as part of measures to control the fast-spreading coronavirus, the health ministry said on Friday.
For Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders who visited those countries recently, they would be issued with stay-home notices where they will have to remain in their place of residence at all times for two weeks after returning.
The southeast Asian travel hub, which also advised against non-essential travel to the four countries, will immediately halt docking by cruise ships, it added.
Singapore has a similar ban in place for travellers from Iran, South Korea and China, where the virus first surfaced late last year.
Singapore has at least 187 confirmed cases to-date and 96 of those patients have been discharged, government tally showed. There have not been any reported deaths from the disease. (Guardian/CNBC)
India registers first coronavirus death
India has registered its first coronavirus death: a 76-year-old man in Karnataka who had fallen sick on returning to India on 29 February after a pilgrimage to Mecca. He died on Tuesday and was later confirmed to have tested positive. Officials are tracing all the people he came into contact with.
As the number of cases rose to 73, the Delhi government ordered the closure of all schools, colleges, and cinemas till 31 March and made it mandatory for shopping malls, government offices and public spaces to be disinfected every day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told all ministers not to travel abroad.
With the Indian Premier League â a hugely popular cricket tournament â starting on 29 March, the government has advised against going ahead with it but left the decision to the organisers.
Google confirmed today that one of its employees in Bengaluru is infected. The man had recently returned from Greece.
On Thursday, the Indian stock market saw the worst crash since 2008, crashing by 2,919 points. (Guardian)