Three more suspected cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have been detected in Singapore, bringing the total identified here to 10.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday the infection is suspected in two children aged three and four who are Chinese nationals, and a 78-year-old Singaporean woman.
All three had pneumonia, a history of travel to China and were in stable condition yesterday. They are being tested for the virus.
They were admitted for further assessment and treatment, and isolated as a precautionary measure.
The previous seven suspected cases all tested negative for the virus.
Associate Professor Vernon Lee, director of the Communicable Diseases Division at MOH, told reporters yesterday that an increase in the number of suspected cases was to be expected as a result of MOH's updated measures.
The ministry widened its isolation measures yesterday, with China's health commission confirming that the coronavirus responsible for causing pneumonia in Wuhan can be transmitted between people.
The measures had previously applied only to those who had travelled to Wuhan within two weeks of their symptoms starting, but were revised to include those who had travelled to any part of China within two weeks of showing symptoms.
"Because we have changed our case definition now to include travel to all of China... we expect the number of suspect cases to increase substantially just because of the (new) geographical distribution," said Prof Lee.
He added that of the 10 suspected cases seen so far, one was identified by temperature screening at the airport, while the other nine presented themselves at various healthcare institutions.
MOH yesterday reminded travellers to monitor their health closely for two weeks upon returning to Singapore, and to seek medical attention promptly if they feel unwell.
Those who have a fever or respiratory symptoms such as a cough or runny nose should wear a mask and call the clinic ahead of their visit.
There is currently no vaccine available for the coronavirus. The mystery virus, which can now be passed from person to person, has already killed 17 people and infected at least 540 throughout China, with cases also surfacing in Taiwan, Japan, Macau, Thailand, Vietnam and the United States.
The authorities here are bracing themselves for the worst.
Mr Ng How Yue, MOH's Permanent Secretary for Health Development, said: "Given how dynamic the situation is, its geographical spread, the numbers that China is reporting, I think we cannot rule out that we will get an imported case, given that Singapore is an international travel hub."
