SINGAPORE: There are three new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in Singapore and none of them are linked to the existing cases or have been in China recently, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Feb 7).

This brings the number of cases in the country to 33. There are now at least four patients with no recent travel history to China or links to the other cases.

A teacher was among the three new cases announced, while one of the cases went visiting during Chinese New Year after developing symptoms, said MOH.

READ: 29th coronavirus case visited Seletar clinic before being sent to hospital

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that authorities are now expanding their case definition and doing “proactive case finding”.

“This means never mind a connection to China. When they have pneumonia, I want to know if this is novel coronavirus. We are investigating more cases, so we are discovering more cases,” said Mr Gan.

At a press briefing on Friday, Singapore authorities raised the DORSCON (Disease Outbreak Response System Condition) code to Orange from Yellow.

This means the disease is deemed severe and spreads easily from person to person, but has not spread widely and is being contained. Moderate disruption is expected, due to measures such as quarantine and visitor restrictions at hospitals.

READ: What you need to know about additional precautionary measures under DORSCON Orange

DORSCON: What you need to know about the framework that guides Singapore’s pandemic response

Seventeen of the 33 confirmed patients in Singapore were visitors from China, while another four are Singaporeans who were evacuated from Wuhan on Jan 30. 

Twelve are locally transmitted, of which nine can be traced back to a group of Chinese tourists from Guangxi.

Two patients are now in critical condition, said MOH, without providing additional details.

Two patients have been discharged, while the remaining cases are stable or improving. The second discharged patient is a woman from Wuhan who was the second confirmed case in Singapore.

READ: Novel coronavirus patient discharged from NCID after recovery: MOH

READ: What we know about the 5 families among Singapore’s confirmed coronavirus cases

MOH director of medical services Kenneth Mak said that experts around the world are working towards understanding the nature of the new coronavirus and its transmission patterns.

“All of us still recognise that the main form of spread remains by droplets and it is very important for us to recognise that most spread can occur through touch,” he said.

This means touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the face, mouth or eyes with contaminated hands.

He added that there have been some reports of spread from people who have yet to develop symptoms but that the evidence today shows the rate of transmission is “very low”.

Novel coronavirus in Singapore: What we know about the confirmed cases

THREE NEW CASES

On Friday, MOH said that two of the new cases had been to Malaysia prior to their diagnosis. 

Case 31, a 53-year-old Singaporean man, had been in Malaysia on Jan 6, 11 and 17, said MOH.

He reported having symptoms on Jan 23, and visited two clinics before being admitted to Changi General Hospital (CGH) on Feb 1. He is currently warded in an isolation room at CGH.

He lives at Tampines Street 24 and had been to the Life Church and Missions Singapore along MacPherson Road. He had visited friends and family during Chinese New Year.

Case 33, a 39-year-old Singaporean woman, had also been in Malaysia from Jan 22 to 29. She is in isolation at Sengkang General Hospital (SKH).

She reported having symptoms on Jan 30 and went to the emergency department on SKH on Feb 2 where she was admitted.

JUNIOR COLLEGE TEACHER 32ND CASE 

The 32nd case, a 42-year-old Singaporean woman, reported symptoms on Sunday and was admitted to Parkway East Hospital on Wednesday.

She works at Victoria Junior College but did not interact with colleagues or students after onset of symptoms as she was on medical leave. 

The last day she was at school was Jan 31, said Ms Liew Wei Li, director of schools at the Ministry of Education (MOE).

The teacher stays at Elias Road and had visited Changi Airport and the Singapore Zoo.

Tests for all three confirmed their 2019-nCOV infections at about 11pm on Thursday.

Ms Liew added that a few colleagues and students who have been in close contact with the teacher will be given 14 days of leave of absence since last day of contact with her.

The college will be thoroughly disinfecting the staff room, pantry and teaching rooms that the teacher was in and co-curricular activities will be suspended for 14 days, among other measures to prevent large-group gatherings.

UPDATE ON CASE 30

In an update on case 30, which was announced on Thursday, MOH said that the 27-year-old man reported having a fever on Jan 21 and visited a general practitioner clinic on Jan 28.

The Singapore citizen, who had attended a conference in Singapore linked to a few other cases, went to another clinic for treatment on Feb 3 before being admitted to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases on Thursday.

He lives at Shunfu Road and had been to Far East Square and Junction 8 shopping malls.

The business meeting at the Grand Hyatt was attended by more than 100 people, including participants from the Chinese province of Hubei.

READ: Four overseas cases of novel coronavirus linked to Singapore: Here’s what we know

READ: China coronavirus death toll hits 636, more than 30,000 infections

The new coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province at the end of last year has killed more than 630 people and spread around the world.

The latest figures from China show there are more than 30,000 people infected in the country.

A Chinese doctor who was punished after raising the alarm about the virus died from the pathogen on Friday, sparking an outpouring of grief and anger in China over the worsening crisis.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the Wuhan coronavirus and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the Wuhan virus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

SINGAPORE: During character and citizenship education class at Farrer Park Primary School on Friday (Feb 7), teachers asked students to rate how scared they felt about the novel coronavirus outbreak on a scale of one to ten. About half the class put up all 10 fingers, but a few students put up just one, two or three fingers. 

When asked why they were scared of the virus, these students gave reasons including the rising numbers in Singapore, and how easily the virus seems to spread. Many students also knew the name and nature of the virus, where it originated, and the number of confirmed cases here. 

Teachers took them through a situation on the spread of fake news about the coronavirus, asking them what they would do if they received a message from their friends about a confirmed case at a certain shopping mall near their home. After a short group discussion, one student piped up: “But you don’t even know whether it’s real.” 

When discussing a situation about xenophobic comments towards classmates from China, students were quick to point out that they might not even have travel history to China. 

“Isn’t that bullying?” another student added. 

This is all part of a new coronavirus teaching package rolled out by the Ministry of Education (MOE) for all students from primary school to post-secondary levels in response to the outbreak. The lesson material across levels is similar, but teachers are given different guiding questions and teaching points depending on the students’ age. 

For example, lower primary students are taught more basic things like good personal hygiene, and how to wash their hands and wear a mask properly, while upper primary students will learn about issues like fake news and xenophobia resulting from the outbreak, and the science behind the virus, said principal of Farrer Park Primary School Cheong Hwee Khim. 

This comes after Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced on Tuesday (Feb 4) that schools will suspend mass assemblies, stagger recess times, as well as cancel camps and introduce visitor management to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among vulnerable groups. 

Co-curricular activities and after-school programmes may continue in smaller groups, MOE said. 

“The aim is to circumscribe the intermingling of students by not conducting mass level learning activities. We will be implementing them from this week beginning with immediately with no mass flag raising ceremonies,” said director of schools at MOE Liew Wei Li on Tuesday.

“We will also be ring-fencing our schools to keep them safe and our students safe by instituting visitor management measures, such as by taking the visitor’s temperature before they step into the school.

“And we would also check the travel history, such as if they have recent travel history to mainland China, they will not be allowed into our schools to interact with our students.”

READ: Schools step up precautions after Wuhan virus case confirmed in Singapore

At Farrer Park Primary, students now take their temperature every day after they sing the national anthem and say the pledge in their classrooms. They are also responsible for bringing their own thermometers, washing them and writing down their daily temperature in their journals. 

In line with the new measures, the school also postponed its primary five outdoor adventure camp, which was supposed to begin on Feb 10. 

“We have explained to our children, they are a little disappointed, but I think we need to teach our children to manage disappointment,” said Miss Cheong.

“And at the same time, we also use the opportunity to teach them or to explain to them the rationale and help them understand the need for the postponement.”

Over the past two weeks, two students have even initiated their own presentations about the novel coronavirus outbreak during a pre-morning assembly activity where students can share interesting facts with the rest of the student body, she added. 

Recess is now staggered into four broad sessions, with students separated by the different levels, ensuring that no more than 240 students are in the canteen at one time. 

At the end of their 20 minutes of eating time, students are ushered to another area of the school for another 20 to 40 minutes of playtime. Different levels will play in different areas before heading back to class in an orderly manner. 

The school has one student on compulsory leave of absence, said Miss Cheong. Teachers check in on him every day, and he has access to lessons via the online Student Learning Space. 

“When he comes back, I think the teachers will have to pull him out and help him catch up on anything that he may not be very clear (on), and I think that’s what the teachers would do.”

“Inevitably, there will be some children who hear (about the coronavirus) from their parents and being a child, they may be afraid because their parents are afraid. I think the important message we want to impress upon our children and also ourselves is, let us not be more afraid than we should be,” said Miss Cheong.

“What is important is we must be very prepared, and we have been very prepared. Our children must learn to take good care of themselves and also to take care of other people. Self-care (and) social responsibility, these are the two key messages we’ve been sharing with our students, and they are aware.” 

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the Wuhan coronavirus and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the Wuhan virus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

SINGAPORE: The number of drug rehabilitation centre (DRC) admissions saw a sharp spike in 2019 following changes to the legislation, annual statistics released by the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) showed on Friday (Feb 7).

A total of 2,080 inmates were admitted to the DRC in 2019, a 65 per cent jump from the 1,257 admitted the year before. There were 1,152 admissions in 2017. This is the first time SPS is releasing such figures.

The spike comes after the Misuse of Drugs Act was amended in January last year to allow repeat drug abusers who have not committed other concurrent offences to be sent to DRC, in a move aimed at reducing relapse and improving reintegration.

Previously, the DRC was reserved for first- and second-time drug abusers. Those arrested for the third time and more were subjected to long-term imprisonment.

The DRC regime includes psychology-based correctional programmes, skills training as well as family support and religious services. Inmates will then serve the tail end of their detention in the community – either on day release from the DRC, at a halfway house, or at home with electronic tagging.

READ: More inmates expected at drug rehab centre; more manpower needed for programmes

Those detained under the DRC regime undergo different durations of detention based on their assessed risks and needs, said SPS adding that it will continue to monitor the recidivism rate of the inmates.

The recidivism rate refers to the percentage of inmates detained, convicted and imprisoned again for a new offence within two years of their release.

Latest statistics showed that the DRC recidivism rate for the 2017 release cohort was 28.1 per cent, compared to 23.8 per cent in 2016 and 29.5 per cent in 2015. SPS said the rate has remained stable over the years, with factors like cohort size accounting for year-to-year fluctuations.

Nevertheless, the DRC recidivism rate is five percentage points higher than the penal recidivism rate of 23.1 per cent in 2017. A possible reason is that the addictive nature of drugs makes it easier to relapse, SPS said.

“Aftercare supervision during the community-based programme (CBP) phase provides abusers with supportive measures that facilitate their reintegration into society,” SPS said.

The CBP completion rate for DRC inmates stood at 87.6 per cent as of the end of last year, a slight increase from the 86.3 per cent in 2018. Some don’t complete the programme because they re-offend during this phase.

Third-time drug abuser and DRC inmate Rahman (not his real name), who has one year left on his detention, is looking forward to completing it and starting afresh.

The 32-year-old admitted he got a “wake-up” call when he was given compassionate leave from DRC last October to visit his ailing father in hospital. “Seeing him lie in bed was very hard for me to take,” he said. “My parents won’t be around forever, so they deserve a chance to see me change.”

READ: Drug crimes cost Singapore S$1.23b in 2015, new study shows

Rahman said he has really bought into the intervention programmes during his third stint in the DRC, especially as they have taught him to be more open about his struggles and emotions. He would previously keep his feelings “bottled up”, eventually returning to drugs for “solace”.

“The officers are more engaged,” he said of his current experience. “They will walk with you in rehab and are more than willing to listen to your problems and try their best to help us. If they can’t, they will find outside resources.”

READ: ‘I want to change … and I need help’: The repeat drug abusers on a mission to stay clean

DRC housing unit officer Mohamed Faizal Abdul Hamid, who ensures inmates attend rehab programmes to address their risks and needs, said the increase in population means officers now have a greater caseload, with a ratio of one officer to 30 inmates compared to 15 previously.

“There will be cases to look into, more engagement we need to do with the guys coming in,” the 38-year-old said, noting that the challenge is having sufficient resources.

“With more inmates, we need more programme space, so that’s one of the things we are grappling with.

“But we are also addressing all those issues, and then it’s time management, proper planning and of course working with relevant stakeholders to make sure that we manage to give these guys the programming they need.”

While additional officers have been deployed to the DRC, the department has also reviewed its work processes and used technology to make them more efficient, Superintendent of Prisons Loh Hong Wai, who is in charge of Institution B5 within the DRC, said. For instance, inmates can use tablets to take e-learning modules on rehabilitation.

“Even with the increased numbers, there is definitely no compromise on the effective delivery of rehabilitation programmes as well as the safe custody of drug abusers committed to our charge,” he said.

OTHER NOTABLE STATS

This safe custody is reflected in the annual data, with the SPS confirming there were no escapes for fiscal years 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The assault rate for fiscal year 2019 was 35.7 incidents per 10,000 inmates, compared to 39.1 and 30.4 for fiscal years 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The year 2019 also saw four executions – two each for murder and drugs offences. There were 13 and eight executions in 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The overall recidivism rate for the 2017 release cohort was 24 per cent, compared to 23.7 per cent in 2016 and 25.9 per cent in 2015.

SPS said the overall recidivism rate has remained “low and stable” over the past three years, highlighting that the figure is considered low by international standards.

“To address offenders’ re-offending risks and rehabilitation needs, SPS adopts a throughcare approach, which means working closely with community partners and volunteers to provide comprehensive supervision and support for offenders,” it said.

Rahman is keen not to be part of this statistic.

“I feel that the Government is giving me a second chance by not sending me to penal imprisonment and letting me go back to DRC,” he said. “My parents also keep giving me a chance and still have hope for me to change. Why not I give myself a chance this time round?”