Singapore ramps up measures to counter Wuhan virus

Measures to counter the Wuhan virus are being stepped up on a number of fronts here, as Singapore confirmed its fifth patient.

Students and staff of public educational institutes, as well as staff and people at public childcare and eldercare facilities, who have been to China will have to take 14 days' leave of absence starting the day after their return.

Temperature screening will be expanded to all incoming flights from tomorrow and visual checks will be conducted for unwell passengers on flights from mainland China. Checks are also in place at land and sea entry points.

The Government strongly encourages people to defer all non-essential trips to mainland China.

It is also ready to help affected businesses, especially those related to tourism, in the form of tax or fee rebates, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing.

These measures were announced at a briefing chaired by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and attended by eight other ministers and a senior minister of state, who comprise the multi-ministerial task force set up to deal with the Wuhan virus.

Later in the day, the Ministry of Health announced a fifth confirmed case, a 56-year-old woman from Wuhan who arrived with her family on Jan 18.

She had developed symptoms last Friday and was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital on Sunday. Yesterday, tests confirmed she had the Wuhan coronavirus.

Since developing symptoms, she had remained with her family at their home in Ceylon Road until taken to hospital in an ambulance.

All five confirmed cases here so far are Chinese nationals from Wuhan.

There are 57 suspected cases, including healthcare workers, but there has been no local transmission of the virus. The first four affected people had 115 close contacts here: 29 have left the country, 75 have been quarantined and the authorities are still trying to contact 11 people.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the committee with Mr Gan, said at the briefing earlier in the day: "Given the continued worsening of the situation, we have decided there is a need for a further step up in our measures.

"Our aim is to minimise the risk of more imported cases, to contain and isolate the identified cases and to minimise the chances of the virus spreading within Singapore."

Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Communications and Information, said the authorities are in touch with the 30 or so Singaporeans in Wuhan and are in talks with China and airlines about bringing them home.

The Wuhan virus appears to be the mildest of the three deadly coronaviruses that have emerged in the past two decades, with a 3 per cent mortality rate compared with about 10 per cent for Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and 34 per cent for Mers (Middle East respiratory syndrome).

But Mr Wong warned that it is early days and the figure may go up, noting that little is known of the new virus.

Other ministers stressed that Singapore is much better prepared now than when it faced Sars in 2003, with contingency plans ready should the situation worsen.

China has also genetically sequenced the virus, which makes it easier to identify those infected.

Singapore has sufficient stockpiles, not just of masks, but also medicine, and healthcare staff are trained to deal with new cases.

Mr Gan said: "We have built multiple rings of defence.

"I urge Singaporeans to remain calm and stay vigilant. Ultimately, a strong national response requires a whole-of-nation effort."

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KEY MEASURES TAKEN TO FIGHT

1. STUDENTS AND WORKERS: Compulsory 14-day leave of absence for students, as well as those working in the education, healthcare and eldercare sectors, if they have returned from mainland China in the past 14 days.

2. TRAVEL ADVISORY: All non-essential travel to mainland China should be deferred.

3. INBOUND FLIGHTS: By tomorrow, temperature screening will be expanded to cover travellers on all flights into Singapore. Those on flights from China will be screened by on-site healthcare teams.

4. BUSINESS: Measures to support businesses affected by the virus will include helping them to reduce business costs, easing cash-flow problems and facilitating the retention of workers.

5. COMMUNICATIONS: Efforts have been made to provide accurate information on the virus through official channels to make sure Singaporeans do not fall prey to falsehoods.

6. ENVIRONMENT: Ministries and agencies will develop protocols for cleaning and disinfection of premises after incidents.