MERS

13 July 2015

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Lim Biow Chuan
MP for Mountbatten

Question No. 684

To ask the Minister for Health whether adequate measures have been taken by the health authorities to ensure that all visitors from countries affected by MERS are properly screened before they are allowed entry into Singapore.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Assoc Prof Randolf Tan
Nominated MP

Question No. 691

To ask the Minister for Health whether there are plans for a nationwide emergency preparedness exercise to strengthen Singapore's capacity to manage the disruption that MERS will pose should the contagion reach our shores.

Oral Reply

1.     MOH has been closely monitoring the global situation of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) since the disease emerged in 2012. WHO’s current assessment is that the transmission of the disease is mainly among households and hospital contacts, and there is no evidence of sustained community transmission. Nevertheless, we must remain vigilant to the possibility and impact of an imported case from the Middle East, South Korea or elsewhere.

2.     There has been close inter-ministry coordination and planning to prepare for such an incident. An Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), co-chaired by Minister Chan Chun Sing and myself, has been formed since late last year to oversee whole-of-government preparedness against dangerous infectious diseases including MERS and Ebola.

3.     We have taken a multi-pronged approach and have put in place various measures to detect imported MERS-CoV cases and contain any further transmission in Singapore. Our first line of defense is on prevention and detection, through public education, border screening, and vigilance within the medical community.

4.     Let me elaborate on some of the measures. As part of public education efforts, MOH has a dedicated webpage on MERS-CoV and has published a set of FAQs to keep Singaporeans understand the disease and advise them on precautionary measures they can take to protect themselves. At our borders, MOH has been issuing health advisories to travellers going to countries with active transmission of MERS-CoV including the Middle East and South Korea. In addition, travellers arriving from MERS-affected countries are given individual health advisories on the symptoms of the illness they should look out for and advised to seek immediate medical attention if they have such symptoms. They are also reminded to inform the healthcare professionals of their travel history, so that proper infection control measures can be taken while they are being tested for MERS-CoV.

5.     Temperature screening at the air checkpoints has been implemented to screen direct flights from the Middle East and South Korea.

6.     However, as MERS-CoV has a long incubation period of up to 14 days, infected travellers may not have any fever when they pass through temperature screening and they may not be detected at entry. Hence, our doctors and hospitals have been reminded to remain vigilant to the threat of MERS-CoV among travellers from affected areas. Persons with symptoms of severe respiratory illness upon return from the Middle East or South Korea and those with any respiratory symptoms and had visited a healthcare facility in South Korea or the Middle East will be subjected to further investigations to rule out the possibility of MERS-CoV infection. They will be isolated until this investigation is completed. This year, up to 10 July 2015, a total of 62 such suspected cases have been investigated locally and all have tested negative for MERS-CoV.

7.     However, it is a matter of time that the contagion will reach our shores. Therefore, beyond the preventive measures that I mentioned, government agencies have contingency response plans in place should there be an imported case. Confirmed cases will be treated in isolations rooms. Our healthcare workers taking care of them will wear appropriate personal protective equipment and they have been trained to minimise the risk of contagion. In parallel, MOH will conduct contact tracing and quarantine all close contacts, to prevent further spread. We will update and exercise our response plans regularly. Recently, we conducted such an exercise at Changi Airport where a simulated patient was conveyed in a portable medical isolation unit (PMIU) to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. We will continue to carry out similar exercises from time to time involving not only MOH but other agencies as well.

8.     The public too plays an important role in national preparedness by keeping up to date with the Government’s advisories and exercising personal responsibility and hygiene practices. The People’s Association recently launched a nation-wide programme to train grassroots leaders on preventive measures to handle MERS-CoV so that they in turn can share the information and knowledge with residents at the constituency level.

9.     MOH and the IMC will continue to monitor and assess the MERS-CoV situation. Our priority remains to prevent, detect and contain any imported case into Singapore so that its impact on the community would be minimised.