A Chinese man infected with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 and his wife have been charged in Singapore for lying to health authorities investigating whether they had passed the disease to others.

Illustrative image (Photo: Xinhua)

Hu Jun, originally from China’s Wuhan city, arrived in Singapore on January 22 and later
tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The 38-year-old patient has since recovered and been discharged from hospital.

The Singaporean authorities also issued a quarantine order for his Chinese wife, a resident of the city-state.

Singapore's Ministry of Health said the couple had given false information about their movements and whereabouts to officials investigating whether they could have passed the disease on to others.

They were charged because of the potentially serious risk their actions had posed to public health, the ministry added.

The couple face a fine of up to 7,150 USD and six-month imprisonment if convicted.

In an another case, immigration officials said on February 26 that they had withdrawn an unnamed foreigner's permanent resident status for violating an order to stay at home in self-quarantine after his recent travel to China.

Singapore has recorded nearly 100 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection since the disease first originated in Wuhan last December.

With nearly 2,800 confirmed deaths and more than 81,000 cases worldwide, Singapore has banned the entry of visitors who have travelled through China or parts of the Republic of Korea within two weeks of their arrival.

(Source: VNA)