They will be required to take and record their temperature twice daily, as part of precautionary measures against the Influenza A (H1N1) virus.

That, and the contingency plan to combat the H1N1 flu outbreak, was announced by the 1st Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009 Organising Committee (Saygoc) and the Ministry of Health at the Swissotel The Stamford on Thursday.

With the emphasis on precautionary measures, steps have already been taken before the start of the Games.

Dr Jeffery Cutter, senior consultant of the communicable diseases division at the Ministry of Health, revealed that an advisory has been sent out to participants and officials to enable them to know what to expect if they have flu-like symptoms here.

In addition, some 1300 athletes from 44 countries were told to get vaccinated against seasonal flu two weeks before arriving in the Republic.

Should an athlete develop any influenza-like illness, it will be assessed at the Games Village's medical centre, he added.

Already, the ninth floor of the Swissotel are now part of the medical centre. Thirteen of the 23 rooms are now isolation rooms, where athletes will remain until their swab sample results are out.

Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, who took a tour around the medical centre today, expressed his confidence in Singapore hosting a successful Games in the midst of a global pandemic.

He said: 'We are acutely aware that we're having over a thousand young people here at the games, hence, there's a special responsibility for us to ensure that these young poeple will be safe.

'To this end, we have the necessary systems and infrastructure in place, as well as a contingency plan, to ensure that an international multi-sport event like this can be conducted safely in Singapore. We need to do our best to keep the young people safe, and we will.'