SINGAPORE (3rd UPDATE) – Nearly two months after reporting its first novel coronavirus case, Singapore confirmed its first two deaths due to the virus on Saturday, March 21.

The Singaporean Ministry of Health (MOH) said those who died were a 75-year-old female Singaporean and a 64-year-old male Indonesian. Both of them “passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection,” said the MOH.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sent his condolences to the loved ones of the two who died.

“As we get more COVID-19 cases, more patients will need ICU care, and we must brace ourselves for more losses,” Lee said.

“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,” the Prime Minister added.

The MOH said the Singaporean female “had a history of chronic heart disease and hypertension,” while the Indonesian male “had a history of heart disease.”

Before this, Singapore had stood out for having zero deaths due to the coronavirus, but the city-state had also said coronavirus deaths would be inevitable.

Singapore reported its first coronavirus case on January 23. 

“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,” said Singaporean Health Minister Gan Kim Yong. (READ: Singapore gets 6 more coronavirus cases from Philippine travelers)

Gan added: “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.”

More details

The MOH gave the following details on the coronavirus patients who died in Singapore:

1. “The first patient was a 75-year-old Singapore citizen. She was admitted to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases on 23 February for pneumonia, and was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on the same day. She had been cared for in the intensive care unit (ICU) since admission to NCID. She developed serious complications and eventually succumbed to the infection after 26 days in the ICU on 21 March at 7:52 am. She had a history of chronic heart disease and hypertension.”
   

2. “The second patient was a 64-year-old male Indonesian national. He was admitted in critical condition to the ICU at NCID on 13 March, after arriving in Singapore from Indonesia on the same day, and was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 14 March. He had been cared for in the ICU since 13 March. He developed serious complications and eventually succumbed to the infection after 9 days in the ICU on 21 March at 10:15 am. Prior to his arrival in Singapore on 13 March, he had been hospitalized in Indonesia for pneumonia, and had a history of heart disease.”

As of Friday evening, March 20, Singapore has had 385 coronavirus patients, including 13 Filipinos. Of this number, 131 have fully recovered, while most others are stable and improving. – Rappler.com