Singapore Airlines’ budget arm Scoot said on Saturday (Jan 25) that it is making arrangements for a flight to bring back Singaporean passengers as well as the crew of flight TR188 which landed in the Chinese city of Hangzhou from Singapore on Friday.
“Subject to relevant regulatory approvals, Scoot is making arrangements to mount a flight to Hangzhou to transport 9 passengers of Singapore nationality and the 11 cabin crew and pilots who are currently still in Hangzhou under the care of the local authorities, back to Singapore. Scoot is working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, the Changi Airport Group and the relevant authorities on the arrangements,” a Scoot statement said.
A male passenger from the flight was taken for further blood tests after the flight landed, in a bid by the authorities to prevent the further spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.
All 314 passengers on the flight have been isolated at Hangzhou International Airport until the blood test results are released.
There are no new confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus here, after the three that were announced earlier, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (Jan 25).
MOH has so far been notified of a total of 64 suspect cases. Three tested positive for the virus, 29 tested negative and results for the remaining 32 cases are pending.
On contact tracing efforts for the three confirmed cases, the ministry said that 46 individuals have been identified as close contacts for the first case, involving a 66-year-old man from Wuhan.
As of Saturday afternoon, 26 of them have left Singapore while 15 others have been isolated or quarantined.
The close contacts include eight of the man’s travelling companions who left Singapore on Thursday afternoon before his case was confirmed.
MOH said that it had informed Malaysian authorities when these close contacts were identified.
Two fires broke out on Saturday morning (Jan 25), the first day of Chinese New Year, but no injuries were reported.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) deployed 10 emergency vehicles and 30 firefighters to put out a fire in a two-storey supermarket in Bedok North.
SCDF said in a Facebook post that it was alerted to the fire at Block 539A Bedok North Street 3 at about 11.35am.
The non-residential unit was heavily smoke-logged upon SCDF’s arrival.
Amid poor visibility, firefighters wearing breathing apparatus sets and armed with water jets entered the unit to locate the fire and anyone who could be trapped within.
“Firefighters had to proceed cautiously on the second-floor as a large area had been extensively damaged,” SCDF said.
The fire, which destroyed the contents on the second floor of the supermarket, was extinguished by SCDF with one water jet.
SINGAPORE: Fire broke out at a Sheng Siong supermarket in Bedok North on the first day of the Chinese New Year holiday (Jan 25).
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at Block 539A Bedok North Street 3 at around 11.30am.
Upon arrival, firefighters found that the two-storey unit was “heavily smoke-logged”, SCDF wrote in a Facebook post.
Fire broke out at a supermarket in Block 539A Bedok North Street 3 on Jan 25, 2020. (Photo: Facebook/Singapore Civil Defence Force)
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus sets and armed with protective water jets “inched their way into the poor-visibility interior of the unit” to locate the fire and anyone who could be trapped within, SCDF said.
They also had to proceed cautiously on the second floor as a large area had been “extensively damaged”.
The fire involved contents on the second floor of the supermarket and was extinguished with one water jet, SCDF added.
SCDF said the second floor of the supermarket was extensively damaged. (Photo: Facebook/Singapore Civil Defence Force)
Ten emergency vehicles and about 30 firefighters were deployed to the incident.
There were no reported injuries.
Damping down, which involves the application of water to wet burnt surfaces to prevent rekindling, is ongoing.
SINGAPORE: Singapore will be able to contain the Wuhan virus situation if everyone works together, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said after visiting staff at Tan Tock Seng Hospital on the first day of the Chinese New Year holiday (Jan 25).
“What is important is that we must work together. With the Government, the people, everyone in Singapore working together, I’m confident that we will be able to contain the situation,” said Mr Gan, who also took part in lo hei, a festive tradition, on Saturday.
The Health Ministry will adjust preventive measures along the way, as it continues to monitor the situation, Mr Gan said.
Mr Gan’s message echoed Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat’s earlier in the day, as he urged the nation to band together in response to the Wuhan virus situation.
ADEQUATE PROTECTION FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS
In response to questions on whether healthcare workers are adequately protected, Mr Gan said the Ministry has been working with clinics, hospitals and healthcare management to ensure adequate protective gear.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong speaking to staff at Tan Tock Seng Hospital before taking part in lo hei with them. (Photo: Jalelah Abu Baker)
“The healthcare workers are on the front line, and they’re all an important component and many of our health workers including the private general practitioners are playing a very important role in the detection of cases. They are the first line of defence,” Mr Gan said.
Mr Gan urged Singaporeans to show support and appreciation to healthcare workers, some of whom are risking their own safety to protect others, especially during the festive season
When asked if the Government is ramping up hospital facilities and patient holding areas in anticipation of more cases, Mr Gan said that while the situation is still evolving, it is important to always be prepared for the eventuality.
“Hospitals have come a long way since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) period,” Mr Gan said adding that the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) is fully equipped to handle infectious diseases.
“We have also equipped all our public hospitals to be able to manage infectious disease patients, if they arrive at the hospital, and I think we are confident that we’ll be able to manage these patients when they come along,” he said.
Mr Gan urged people to practise good hygiene as they mingle with friends and relatives over the Chinese New Year festivities.
NCID executive director Leo Yee Sin also stressed that there is no need for people who are not showing symptoms to wear masks, as long as those who have symptoms are responsible and wear surgical masks.
“Most of the viruses spread through droplet transmissions … The best way to catch these droplets is a surgical mask,” she said.
A passenger from a flight by Singapore Airlines’ budget arm Scoot that departed from Singapore to China on Friday (Jan 24) has been taken for further tests, in a bid by authorities to prevent the further spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.
In a statement on Saturday, Scoot said that a passenger on flight TR 188 had to be sent for further blood tests after the flight landed in Hangzhou, China on Friday.
All 314 passengers on the flight have been isolated at the airport until the blood test results are released. It is not known how many Singaporeans were on the flight.
Upon landing at Hangzhou International Airport, all passengers on the flight had to undergo “enhanced health screening”, said Scoot, adding that passengers sent for blood tests had to go for additional screening as well.
“All passengers and crew of TR188 24 January 2020 have been isolated at the airport until the blood test results are out,” said a Scoot spokesman.
Three people in Malaysia have been confirmed to have the Wuhan coronavirus, Malaysian Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said today (Jan 25), marking the first cases of the potentially deadly disease in the country.
The three Chinese citizens, who entered Malaysia via Johor Baru, are the wife and grandchildren of a 66-year-old man from Wuhan, who is currently being treated in Singapore for the same virus.
The three patients have since been transferred to Sungai Buloh Hospital in Selangor, said Datuk Seri Dzulkefly.
The patients were said to have boarded a plane from Guangzhou to Singapore on Jan 20.
The 66-year-old man and his son tested positive for the virus and were admitted to hospital in Singapore on January 22.
SINGAPORE: Singapore must band together to respond to the Wuhan virus situation, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Saturday (Jan 25).
Mr Heng was speaking to reporters after a visit to Changi Airport early on Saturday morning, giving out gift bags to taxi drivers as well as other workers as a show of appreciation on the first day of the Chinese New Year holiday.
The authorities were monitoring the Wuhan virus situation here very closely to see how it was developing to ensure a quick response to any changes on the ground, said Mr Heng.
He added that the inter-ministry task force in charge of the situation – chaired by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong – was evolving the response plan as necessary.
“I would like to assure Singaporeans that our agencies are doing their best to monitor the situation and respond as needed,” he said.
Individuals should also take care of their hygiene and ensure they are well-informed about the situation, and not spread false information during this time, he added.
This comes after the Ministry of Health confirmed an additional two confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection – also known as the Wuhan virus, after the city in China where it originated – in Singapore on Friday.
There are now three confirmed cases here.
They are a 66-year-old Wuhan resident and his son, aged 37 – who are both in isolation at the Singapore General Hospital – as well as 53-year-old woman, also from Wuhan, who is in isolation at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
As of Friday, there were 44 suspect cases here. Of these, 13 tested negative while test results were pending for the remaining 28.
In China, the number of cases is nearly at 1,300, with 41 dead as of Saturday.
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and union leaders celebrating Chinese New Year with workers at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on Jan 25, 2020 (Photo: Zhaki Abdullah)
Accompanying Mr Heng were National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Ng Chee Meng and NTUC president Mary Liew, as well as Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Faishal Ibrahim and other union leaders.
Union leaders – together with 4G leaders including Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing as well as Social and Family Development Minister Desmond Lee – also visited more than 3,000 workers on duty at locations such as the PSA Pasir Panjang Terminal and Resorts World Singapore on Saturday morning.
Despite the heightened measures taken in light of the virus, morale remained high among the workers he spoke to, said Mr Heng, adding they were taking the necessary precautions even as they remained committed to their work.
Workers in various sectors – including healthcare, transport and other essential services – helped keep Singapore functioning smoothly and safely amid the festivities, he noted.
“It is important for us to show our appreciation to all of them for the hard work they put in,” he said.
The Wuhan virus presents a new challenge for Singapore but the Republic is better prepared to tackle it, compared with when Sars broke out in 2003, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.
But even as measures are being taken to mitigate the effect of the new virus, Singaporeans should make sure that they check the information they receive and not spread fake news, he told reporters on Saturday (Jan 25).
Mr Heng said: “I hope that every one of us will do our part as individuals to make sure that we take special precautions, and make sure that we observe good hygiene habits. And importantly, to watch out and keep a lookout for information and make sure that we do not spread false information.”
A ministerial taskforce set up to bring together different government agencies has already taken steps such as instituting temperature checks at all land, sea and air checkpoints.
Mr Heng said that the Government is closely monitoring the developments of the Wuhan virus situation so that it can respond quickly.
“I would like to assure Singaporeans that our agencies are doing their best to monitor the situation and to respond as needed,” he said.
