Singapore must be prepared for MERS: PM Lee

SINGAPORE - The Republic must assume that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) can and will enter the country, given its inter-connectivity and how neighbours such as Malaysia and the Philippines have had MERS cases, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday (Jun 11).

In a visit to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Mr Lee said: "For us it's a matter of time, and for us, I wanted to be quite sure that our medical facilities our medical staff, the hospitals, the whole team are ready and they know how to deal with it. They don't fumble and we can contain it, and then put a stop to the disease in Singapore as quickly as we can."

TTSH has been designated by Singapore's Health Ministry to be the hospital for MERS-CoV patient cases once the virus was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

South Korea on Wednesday reported 2 more deaths and 13 more new MERS cases in the country.

PUBLIC NEEDS TO KNOW HOW TO RESPOND

The Singapore public also needs to know how to respond, Mr Lee added. If one has travelled and feels unwell, or displays flu symptoms, these individuals should take it seriously and visit the hospital to get checked, he said.

If there were to be MERS cases in the country, Singaporeans should not get into a panic, but know that the country is prepared and what can be done, he said.

TTSH said it has a robust preparedness plan to handle global pandemic threats, along with the dedicated facilities.

The hospital has started screening for suspect cases since 2012. It said all suspected and confirmed cases at the hospital will be isolated and managed under strict airborne infection control precautions.

It added processes are in place at the hospital's Emergency Department, to evaluate and screen patients with clinical signs of respiratory illnesses and a travel history to suspected regions. If suspected, patients are managed separately with masks and placed in isolation rooms for further medical consultation.

If needed, they will then be admitted into designated isolation wards at the Communicable Diseases Centre (CDC).

On Tuesday, Singapore also started temperature screening at air checkpoints for travelers arriving from South Korea.

To date, no case of MERS-CoV has been reported in Singapore. But the Health Ministry has previously said the possibility of an imported case here cannot be ruled out given today's globalised travel patterns.

- CNA/kk