Singapore has launched a probe to identify 95 of its citizens who took part in a religious gathering in Malaysia, after Brunei's first coronavirus case was detected in a person who attended the same three-day congregation held last month, a top minister said on Thursday.
The 95 Singaporeans were among over 1,500 people, including almost 700 Indonesians and more than 200 Filipinos, who attended the gathering held between February 28 and March 1 at the Seri Petaling Mosque in Selangor state on the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur.
Brunei's first case was a 53-year-old man who returned from Kuala Lumpur on March 3 and started showing symptoms four days later, the Sultanate's Health Ministry said.
Malaysia reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing its toll of infections to 149.
"I am concerned to hear that there were several COVID-19 cases confirmed, arising from a mass religious gathering in Malaysia," Singapore's Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
"It was reported that 95 Singaporeans had attended the event," the Minister, said, adding that Singapore's Health Ministry was investigating and identifying the Singaporean attendees.
"If you were there, please get yourselves checked up by a doctor - protect your loved ones and those around you. For those who are unwell, please seek medical attention immediately," the Channel News Asia quoted the Minister as saying.
Eleven cases have surfaced in people in Brunei who attended the meeting. The 12th case linked to the Kuala Lumpur meeting is a Malaysian, according to media reports.
The Malaysian authorities are also tracking about 5,000 of its citizens who took part in the event.
Malaysia called on Thursday for mass gatherings to be postponed after at least 12 coronavirus cases were linked to the gathering of Islamic missionaries.
Lauding the local Muslim community for taking "much effort" to adjust its religious practices during this challenging time, minister Zulkifli said the people in Singapore must be vigilant when carrying out religious practices.
"Many are refraining from our usual handshake or 'salam' and instead are adopting what I call the 'Mufti Salam', where one places his hand on his chest to convey his greetings," he said.
"Many are also bringing their own personal prayer mats and paraphernalia to the mosque," he said.
Zulkifli, who is also Environment and Water Resources Minister, said that cleanliness and hygiene were Singapore's first line of defence against COVID-19 pandemic.
He reiterated the importance of using tissues while sneezing or coughing and not attending social gatherings when unwell.
The deadly coronavirus virus that first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year has claimed over 4,500 lives and infected more than 124,000 people across 107 countries and territories.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday characterised the COVID-19 outbreak as a "pandemic".
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