The Singapore government reiterated that it would foot public hospital bills incurred by both local and foreign coronavirus patients. Currently, all confirmed cases of the disease are admitted to public hospitals for isolation in a bid to prevent community transmission.

Globally, there have been more than 45,000 infections and 1,115 deaths. Hong Kong and the Philippines are the only places outside mainland China to have registered a death, with one in each.

Of the three new cases in Singapore, two work at Grace Assembly of God churches in Tanglin and Bukit Batok, while the third is a 62-year-old male employee of DBS Bank. The bank evacuated 300 staff from its premises on Wednesday after the infection was confirmed.

Singapore bank DBS evacuates 300 staff after coronavirus case surfaces

The pair who work at the Grace Assembly of God churches are both Singaporean. One is 34 and reported the onset of symptoms on February 1, the other is 46 and reported symptoms on February 3. Authorities said they represent the fifth infection cluster in Singapore.

The four other clusters involve: five cases linked to The Life Church and Missions Singapore; nine cases associated with a medical hall in central Singapore called Yong Thai Hang which was visited by Chinese tourists; three cases who attended a private business meeting at Grand Hyatt Hotel in January; and two who work at a construction site at Seletar Aerospace Heights.

Out of the 50 total cases in Singapore, 15 have recovered.

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said authorities were aware the virus was circulating within the population and were doing their best to contain its spread through contact tracing.

“That work is proceeding and we’re going all out to try and contain and isolate these clusters each time we see it forming,” said Wong. Still, the containment measures are not foolproof.

Wong said many people had asked how the situation would unfold in coming days. “The honest answer is: it is still too early to tell. We really can’t say whether it will get better, whether it will get worse, what sort of situation is going to unfold,” he said.

“We don’t know how successful we will be in all of these containment measures that we have put in place. We will do our very best, but if there’s a need then we may very well have to step up and [introduce] more measures, additional measures that involve social distancing in order to try and reduce the chance of the virus spreading faster.”

Coronavirus: why did Singapore have more cases than Hong Kong?

Asked about countries such as Israel, South Korea, Kuwait and Qatar which have issued travel advisories against Singapore, Wong said he understood that governments wanted to protect their citizens and that each country would “have to decide on the appropriate measures they want to take”.

Wong said international cooperation was important in an international public health emergency like this outbreak of the coronavirus, which causes the disease now officially known as Covid-19.

“We know we do need transparency and sharing of information across different countries, across all countries. And that’s why at the government level we are sharing information as much as we can with all countries,” said Wong.

Wong said senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) had met European Union counterparts in Brussels on Tuesday to share details on what Singapore and Asean were doing to contain the spread of the virus in the region.

Singapore and Malaysia on Tuesday announced a joint working group to control the spread of the virus since there is a high volume of travel between the countries.

The city state’s 46th case, for example, is a permanent resident who lives in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and works at Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa Casino.

Gan also urged Singaporeans to rally around health care workers amid reports doctors and nurses were being shunned.

“Let us come together to show our support for them, and to support their work, so they continue to take care of our patients, and families and our loved ones,” said Gan.

“Show them the well-deserved support they need. Sometimes, a kind word or a warm greeting will go a long way to make them feel appreciated, and give them a morale boost to continue the fight.”

Wong also addressed the weekend’s panic buying, when citizens swept essential items off supermarket shelves after the country raised its alert level from yellow to orange, signifying local spread of the virus in contained clusters.

He said it was challenging to get accurate information out. “In today’s world of social media, fear and uncertainty and panic spread a lot faster than the truth, which is boring and nobody wants to share.”