Singapore will not move immediately to raise the pandemic alert level from the current Yellow level. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
THE Ministry of Helath will not be upping its alert level or current measures, even if World Health Organisation declares a global pandemic which is widely expected soon.
Reason: Singapore has already taken this development into consideration when mapping out its strategy against the Influenza A (H1N1) virus earlier, said Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Thursday.
The Geneva-based WHO is consulting its emergency committee of flu experts on Thursday and is likely to declare the first flu pandemic in 41 years following a spike in infections in Australia, where five people have been admitted to intensive care and 1,263 cases of 'swine flu' recorded.
The meeting comes a day after WHO chief Margaret Chan held a teleconference with countries worst hit by swine flu to assess if there was 'undisputable' evidence of local spread of the virus.
On Wednesday, the number of A(H1N1) infections reported to the WHO by 74 countries reached 27,737, including 141 deaths.
So far the WHO has left its six-level pandemic alert scale unchanged at phase five - signalling that a pandemic is 'imminent.'
But if it determines that there are sustained local transmissions outside the Americas, it could raise the alert to six - suggesting a full-blown Singapore, currently in containment phase, meaning it is protecting its borders, will continue to be vigilant.
But Mr Khaw told journalists after the signing of an MOU with three voluntary welfare organisations to collaborate on the building of three new nursing homes which the goverment will fully fund, that MOH will move gradually from the containment phase to the mitigation phase if the flu transmission becomes widespread in the community.
