SARS: No New Probable Cases Today

22 May 2003

There are no new probable cases or patient discharges today. The number of patients who have recovered from SARS remains at 162, with 12 patients hospitalised, of which 5 are in intensive care.

Two patients, who were admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) on 6 and 7 April 2003, passed away today. Both were inpatients of Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Ward 57/58, who had been subsequently transferred to TTSH. The two men, aged 64 and 78 years were reported as probable cases on 10 and 11 April 2003 respectively.

Update on Foreign Media Stories of Possible SARS Cases Connected With Singapore

The Nation and Bangkok Post

The Nation and Bangkok Post reported on 13 May reported that a 32-year-old Thai, working illegally in Singapore, was diagnosed as a probable SARS case. She had a fever of 39.6 degrees Celsius upon arrival at Don Muang Airport on 30 Apr.

While under custody, she did not complain of any medical problems. On the morning of her departure to Thailand, she complained of some skin discomfort. She was brought to a doctor who examined her and treated her skin condition. When she left for the airport in the afternoon, she was well and at the airport, she was checked and cleared by the thermal scanner.

There has been no record of SARS in the lock-up facilities that she was housed in. It is therefore unlikely that she had contracted SARS.

For more details, see the investigative findings for this case.

The Star, New Straits Times, The Sun, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia

The Star, New Straits Times, The Sun, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia reported on 17 May that a 29-year-old Bangladeshi businessman at Kuala Lumpur International Airport had a fever and a cough on arrival from Singapore, on 14 May.

The businessman came to Singapore on 10 May 2003, by bus, through Woodlands Checkpoint. He checked in at Changi Airport at around 10.30 pm on 13 May 2003 for his flight to Kuala Lumpur. When he was screened on his entry into the transit lounge, he did not have a fever. Next morning, he took the 8.45 am flight to Kuala Lumpur.

We are glad to note from the Tunku Ampuan Hospital that he has since been diagnosed with dengue fever and not SARS, and has been discharged.

Times of India

The Times of India reported on 13 May 2003 that a 25-year-old man in Gujarat, with a travel history to Singapore, had tested positive for the SARS virus and was admitted to Ahmedabad hospital on 6 May.

The man arrived in Singapore from Chennai on 26 April 2003. As he was carrying a tampered passport, he was denied entry at the airport. He never left the airport and took the earliest available flight back to Chennai. We are glad to note that he has since been discharged and is therefore not a SARS suspect. Indeed, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has continued to classify India as being SARS-free.

Singapore has implemented measures over and above WHO's guidelines to contain the spread of SARS to the community. Thermal imaging scanners are deployed at Changi Airport to check the temperatures of all incoming and departing visitors to Singapore to minimise the possibility of any spread of infection into or beyond Singapore.

*For more related information, please visit the Cross-border Sars Cases page.

Suspect Cases

No new suspect cases are admitted today.

Observation Cases

There are 2 new admissions for observation for fever today. They are two men whose ages are 74 and 32 years respectively. Both do not have a contact history.

Quarantine Figures*

The quarantine figures are as follows:

Discharged patients under home quarantine = 510

Contacts under home quarantine = 15

Total under home quarantine orders = 525

*Quarantine cases refer to those who are required to stay at home for precautionary reasons as they may have had contact with a SARS patient. These are healthy individuals.

# This is an added precautionary measure for discharged SARS patients as well as those with co-morbidities.

Summary of SARS Cases

A summary of the SARS cases to date:

Discharged: 162

Hospitalised: 12(including 5in ICU)

Deaths: 31

Probable cases: 206*

Suspect cases: 0

Observation cases: 11

*includes 1 case who died from non-SARS causes

Travel Advisory

MOH urges the public to heed the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s advice to postpone travel to Beijing, Hong Kong, Hebei, Guangdong, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Tianjin and Taiwan until another time.