SARS: New Measures At Airport To Curb Importation Of New Cases; More Patients Recovering And Discharged

30 Mar 2003

In yesterday's Press Release, MOH had informed that the fourth imported case left for Hong Kong on 14 March 03 and then to Beijing on 15 March 03. On 19 March 03, she became unwell. Between 19 and 23 March 03, she met and worked with two Singaporean colleagues, who have since returned to Singapore and are well. She arrived back in Singapore on Southern China Airlines CZ 355 at Terminal 1, Changi Airport on 26 March 03 at 5.38 am. Accompanied by her mother, she took a taxi from the airport to the Accident & Emergency Department, Singapore General Hospital. From there, she was transferred by ambulance and admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Her mother and two colleagues have been issued with Home Quarantine Orders. Others who were served the Orders were 3 SATS officers, 2 SIR officers and 2 relations officers from the airline. We have identified a taxi-driver who said that he had ferried two women from Changi Airport to the Accident & Emergency Department, Singapore General Hospital on the morning of 26 March 03. As a precautionary measure, a Home Quarantine Order has been issued to him.

Following yesterday's press statement, we have been able to locate 10 more passengers. They are all well and quarantine orders are being served to them. In total, 40 of the 48 passengers (excluding the case) have been identified. There is a possibility that some of the remaining 8 passengers are no longer in Singapore. The names of the remaining 8 passengers who we have still been unable to locate are:

1. Chen Hai Yun

2. Fan Jun

3. Ho Kee Siong

4. Koh Meng Heng

5. Li Xu

6. Ma Yun Xin

7. Wang Ying

8. Zhang Feng Lan

NEA would however continue the contact tracing based on information received from SIR as well as information received through the hotline. The Ministry urges these persons or anyone who knows their whereabouts to call 91788389 with the information.

The latest (fifth) imported case is a 17 year old Indonesian male student who left Singapore on 15 March 03 with his parents and his 15 year old brother for Guangdong and Hong Kong. The family returned to Singapore on the night of 23 March 03. On 24 March 03, he was well and attended school at Bowen Secondary School. On 25 March 03, he developed a fever and was seen at TTSH as an outpatient. He was given 5 days medical leave. He was seen again on 27 March and admitted to TTSH as a suspect SARS case. He stayed at home all this while. He was upgraded as a SARS case on 29 March 03. His mother is also admitted to TTSH as a suspect case. His father and brother are well.

ADDITIONAL PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AT CHANGI AIRPORT TO MINIMIZE THE IMPORT OF SARS

To minimize the import of SARS cases, Singapore is stepping up health screening procedures for passengers arriving at Changi Airport from affected countries. This is in view of new index cases that are traced to people who have traveled overseas.

Additional Precautionary Measures For Incoming Passengers

From 5pm tomorrow (31 March 2003) onwards, for all incoming flights from affected areas as identified by WHO, nurses will be present to check on passengers who appear unwell. Those who have fever, will be sent to TTSH for assessment.

Additionally, CAAS has today issued a directive that takes immediate effect to all airlines operating at Changi Airport requiring them to ask passengers the three questions recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) before allowing them to board the flight to Singapore. The three questions are :

1. Do you have high fever of more than 38 degrees Celsius?

2. Do you have one or more respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing?

3. Have you had close contact with a person who has been diagnosed with SARS or had recent history of travel to areas reporting cases of SARS.

Any visibly unwell passenger will be asked to obtain a doctor's certification before they are allowed to board the flight to Singapore.

The above measures are on top of the health advisory cards distributed to all passengers coming from affected areas as identified by WHO.

MOH and CAAS will scale up the operations and implement the above measures to other affected countries as and when WHO updates the list.

Additional Precautionary Measures For Outgoing Passengers

CAAS has issued a directive to airlines in Changi Airport requiring all airlines to ask departing passengers the three questions recommended by the WHO. This directive takes effect immediately.

This is in addition to the health advisory cards which are distributed to passengers bound to affected areas as identified by WHO when checking-in for their flights.

SARS Situation Update

As at 30 March 03, the total number of people who have recovered from SARS and are discharged from hospital is 35. The remaining 53 patients are hospitalised.

A total of 91 people with SARS have been reported to the Ministry of Health. Of the 2 additional patients, one is a healthcare worker who is still traced back to the initial 3 index cases, and the other is the new (fifth) imported case.

So far, there have been no SARS cases that are linked to the fourth and fifth imported cases. This brings the total number of family members, friends or close contacts infected by SARS to 44, and the total number of hospital staff infected by SARS to 42. These 86 cases are all linked to the first 3 index cases. The number of infected children still remains at 3. There are currently 36 suspected cases, 2 out of which are children.

There are 12 patients who are in serious condition, including the fourth imported case. One patient who was in intensive care passed away on 29 March 03. This patient had concurrent history of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and a bacterial pneumonia.

Other Control measures

Singapore has taken extra precautionary measures, beyond WHO's recommended control measures, to ensure that the spread is contained. These include isolating all suspected and SARS patients in TTSH, enhanced infection control measures for hospital staff and instituting home quarantine measures for those who have come into contact with people diagnosed with SARS. The key strategy is to identify suspect cases once they show symptoms of the disease and isolate them to prevent transmission to more people. The closure of schools is to allay the concerns of parents. We will step up efforts to help the public understand the nature of SARS and how they could help us in our efforts to minimise the risk of community spread.

SARS is not infectious until the person develops fever. Transmission of SARS is only through close contact with infected persons. We believe that if everyone exercises social responsibility, we can tackle the SARS outbreak here calmly, without too many disruptions to our normal routines.

We urge all people to help us in our efforts by taking these simple precautions.

• Heed our travel advisory and avoid travelling to Hong Kong, Hanoi and Guangdong province in China for the time being, unless absolutely necessary.

• If you have travelled to these places, be vigilant and seek immediate medical attention if you have fever (more than 38 degree celsius) and respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath or breathing difficulty. Do not fly if you have developed such symptoms.

• If you think that you have been exposed to persons diagnosed with SARS, and later develop a fever, do not go to work. See a doctor immediately.

• If you are unwell, avoid crowded places.