Singapore fears economic impact of Covid-19 (coronavirus) will exceed SARS

A customer wearing a protective mask browses accessories at a store in the Chinatown area of Singapore, on Friday, (Feb 14). Singapore last week raised its disease response level to the same grade used during the SARS epidemic, as it braced for what Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said was a “major test for our nation.” - Bloomberg

SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy "will take a hit" from the spreading Covid-19 (coronavirus), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday (Feb 14) while inspecting health screening measures at the city-state's international airport.

Lee said that the economic impact of the disease, also known as Covid-19, will likely top that of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003, which resulted in reduced commerce and travel across East and South-East Asia and saw Singapore's wealthy, trade-based economy shrink by 0.3% during that year's second quarter.