The Ministry of Health (MOH) has on Wednesday (Jan. 22) been notified of three additional suspect cases of Wuhan pneumonia in Singapore.

Two young boys and an elderly female

The three suspect cases identified include two young boys, aged three and four years old, who are Chinese nationals, as well as a 78-year-old female Singapore resident.

It is uncertain if these three individuals have a travel history to Wuhan, but they did travel to China within 14 days of the onset of their pneumonia symptoms.

Currently, all three have been admitted to hospital for further assessment and treatment, and are in stable condition.

They have also been isolated as a precautionary measure.

So far, all the other local suspect cases of pneumonia sufferers with travel history to Wuhan and other parts of China were confirmed to not have been infected with the new coronavirus.

New task force set up, temperature screening for all arriving from China & travel health advisories

MOH has put in place other precautionary measures in response to the rising number of cases overseas.

As of Jan. 22, temperature screenings are being conducted at Changi Airport on all travellers arriving from China.

Apart from announcing the formation of a taskforce, MOH and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) has also developed joint clinical guidance on the novel coronavirus to advise on the management of suspect cases.

Meanwhile, the ministry has also advised Singaporeans to avoid travel to Wuhan and to exercise caution when travelling to other parts of China.

9 deaths so far

There have so far still been no confirmed cases of Wuhan pneumonia in Singapore.

Considering that Singapore is a travel hub though, MOH says it expects to see more suspect cases and import cases.

The novel coronavirus is a new strain originating from a seafood market in Wuhan.

The market was reportedly a hub of illegal wildlife transactions, and Chinese experts believe the virus originated from wild animals.

Thus far, there have been nine deaths from Wuhan pneumonia, and more than 400 confirmed reported cases in mainland China.

The novel coronavirus has also spread globally to countries like South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and the United States.

The cases in the U.S. and Taiwan both had a travel history to Wuhan.

Here's a quick summary of what is known about the Wuhan pneumonia:

And here's the latest on what's been happening:

Top photo from Reuters