Singapore announces first local coronavirus transmissions
February 4, 2020, 10:02 am

Singapore announces first local coronavirus transmissions (file photo AFP )

Singapore on Tuesday announced the first local transmissions of the deadly coronavirus from China as a major aviation conference was scrapped due to the escalating health scare.

The Ministry of Health said it had found six additional cases, four of them involving human-to-human transmission in Singapore, bringing the total infections to 24 in the city-state.

"Though four of these cases constitute a local transmission cluster, there is as yet no evidence of widespread sustained community transmission in Singapore,” the ministry said in a statement.

Two of the local transmission cases involved women working at a health products shop primarily serving Chinese tourists.

A third was one of the women’s Indonesian maid.

Another was a female tour guide who had brought groups to the health shop.

In addition to the local transmissions, two cases were among the Singapore residents evacuated from Wuhan on January 30.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that if the local transmissions escalate in the community the government is prepared to consider "measures to reduce human-to-human interaction".

- Aviation convention scrapped -

A major international aviation conference scheduled for the eve of next week's Singapore Airshow has been cancelled, organisers said Tuesday.

Organisers, however, said the main event, Asia's biggest airshow, will proceed as scheduled from February 11 to 16 despite the pullout of several exhibitors, many of them from China.

The aviation industry is one of the most affected by the virus outbreak after governments worldwide imposed restrictions on travel, including bans on arrivals from China.

The death toll in China stood at 425 Tuesday, exceeding the number of fatalities in the country from the outbreak in 2002-03 of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.

The World Health Organization has declared the crisis a global health emergency.

SOURCE :AFP

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”