| By Bertha Henson, Associate Editor | ||
 |  | Gowned nurses prepare equipment at the dedicated assessment and decontamination room for Swine Flu at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), where suspected cases are isolated after being brought from the airport. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN |
From Wednesday, thermal scanners, already deployed at Changi Airport, will be placed at the Harbourfront Centre and Tanah Merah ferry terminals. At other sea entry points, such as West Coast Pier and Changi Ferry Terminal, temperature checks will be done by thermometer.
SINGAPORE TAKING NO CHANCES  'IT is like an act of God. It's like Sars. How long will it last? I don't know. But we're taking all the precautions. So far, nobody has been affected. I don't know how many of our people are doing business in Mexico, but if they come back, they will be quarantined. |
The flurry of activity comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) decided late on Monday night to raise pandemic alert levels from 3 to 4, two short of the maximum. This means that the virus is circulating among humans, and is capable of causing community-level outbreaks.
In Singapore, the Health Ministry (MOH) raised the alert level last night from green to yellow, on a five-colour alert system which rises from green to yellow, orange, red and the most serious, black. 'This is to better brace ourselves to handle situations where there may be isolated imported cases but no sustained local transmission,' it said in a statement.
The colour code is a guide for all parties on how to respond at different stages of a potential pandemic. Actions listed under the yellow strategy include twice-daily temperature checks on hospital staff and a ban on patient transfers between hospitals, except in emergencies.
Last night, National University Hospital staff were already in yellow mode: A thermal scanner is in place to screen visitors. Staff have also been told to stop visitors, except those accompanying children who are patients, from entering the Accident & Emergency department. 'It feels similar to the Sars days, when thorough checks were in place, but it's not that extreme yet where visitors are totally barred,' said a hospital administrative staff.
Here, 16 people have been referred to the Communicable Disease Centre (CDC) and one person was seen at the Singapore General Hospital, said MOH. So far, four have tested negative for influenza A. Preliminary test results can be obtained in a day, but confirmation of the swine flu H1N1 strain will take up to seven days.
On Tuesday, the Government Gazette showed that MOH has authorised seven people to exercise powers under the Infectious Diseases Act till July 31. These include being able to compel those suspected of having the virus to go through a blood test.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force has put out an urgent call for 'flu pandemic supplies' on the website the Government uses to call for tenders. It could not specify what these supplies were but it made clear that delivery time and shelf life were more important than price. The deadline is on Thursday.
Also last night, MOH gave the assurance that it has enough of the antiviral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, to treat Singaporeans should the need arise. 'Members of the public should thus avoid stockpiling of these antiviral drugs,' it added.
Additional reporting by Tan Wei Zhen
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