Press Releases
Update (V) On SARS Cases In Singapore
18 March 2003
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18 Mar 2003
Since the MOH Press Release yesterday, 2 more patients have been diagnosed with SARS. The new cases are both close contacts of the cases. In total, 23 cases of SARS have been reported. Other than the initial 3 cases, the additional 20 patients are all close contacts of patients with SARS, 8 of them being hospital staff. All the patients are stable, except for four patients who are in serious condition.
The Ministry of Health would like to appeal to the public to avoid travel to Hong Kong, Hanoi and Guangdong province in China for the time being, unless absolutely necessary. This would help us greatly in our efforts to contain the number of new cases. We hope that we will continue to see a decreasing number of cases of SARS as we have put in place the necessary precautionary measures.
We also advise you to stay calm and continue with your daily routine. Though SARS is infectious, there is no need for alarm as your risk to SARS is low. WHO has reported that the disease is spread from person to person but only through close contact with an infected person. There is no evidence to date that the disease spreads through casual contact. Apart from the initial three cases, those who came down with SARS in Singapore were family members and friends, and hospital staff who had come into close contacts with the infected patients.
The Ministry would like to reiterate that you should seek immediate medical attention if you have:
- Fever (>38 degrees Celsius) and respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath or breathing difficulty;
AND
- have travelled to Hong Kong, Hanoi or Guangdong province in China, within 2 weeks of onset of the symptoms; or
- are a close contact of persons diagnosed with SARS. (Close contact means having cared for, having lived with, or having had direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids of a person with SARS)
Related links:
Factsheets:
(a) Measures Taken To Control the Outbreak in Singapore