Update On SARS - 1 Apr

01 Apr 2003

Situation Update

As at 1 April, the total number of patients with SARS is 95. The total number of people who have recovered from SARS and have been discharged from hospital is 52. The remaining 39 patients are hospitalised. There are 42 suspect cases, including 2 children. There are 13 patients who are in serious condition, including the fourth imported case.

The three new cases are:

- A sixth imported case.

- 1 hospital staff who is linked to the initial index case.

- 1 hospital staff linked to the patient who died in NUH on 31 March 03.

6th imported case:

She is a 56-year-old Chinese national who arrived from Fujian Province (near Guangdong) on 16 March 03 to visit her daughter. She became unwell on 28 March 03 and was admitted to TTSH as a suspect SARS case on 29 March 03. She was diagnosed as a SARS case on 1 April 03. Home Quarantine Orders are being issued.

Suspect SARS in Polytechnic Student

He is a 20-year old student of Class 6B03 Ngee Ann Polytechnic. He attended classes at Ngee Ann Polytechnic on Tuesday, 25 March 03 and Wednesday, 26 March 03. He was well on these two days.

On Thursday, 27 March 03 the student developed a fever. He called up a lecturer at the Polytechnic to inform her that he had a fever and was advised not to come for classes and to consult a doctor. He then saw a GP. The next day, Friday 28 March 03 he called up his project team-mate to inform him that he was too sick to attend class. On 28 March he consulted a doctor at a Polyclinic. 29 March was a Saturday and there were no classes on that day.

The patient stayed at home from 27 to 29 March and did not attend classes. On 30 March 03, the patient went to CDC where he was admitted. As he is the son of the patient who died of SARS at NUH on 31 March 03, he was diagnosed as a suspect SARS case.

As a precautionary measure, the students who have been to the same classes as the patient on 26 March are being traced with the help of the Polytechnic.

1 hospital staff linked to the patient who died in NUH on 31 March 03

A doctor in NUH who had attended to the patient who died of SARS at NUH on 31 March 03 has been diagnosed as SARS today. He had performed a procedure (a bronchoalveolar lavage on the patient in the ICU on 26 March. He developed fever on 29 March and stayed at home. On 30 and 31 March, his fever was low grade and he felt well but he continued to stay at home. On 1 April, he had persistent low grade fever and was admitted to CDC with probable SARS. Although he was wearing an N95 mask, gown and gloves, he was performing a procedure which could have put him at higher risk. As of the later part of last week, NUH has required the use of PAPR hoods for high risk procedures in potentially infectious patients to provide an even higher level of protection for staff. The MOH has instructed all hospitals to do the same and will be supplying a further 100 sets of such hoods to the hospitals for this purpose.

Another two passengers located

Following yesterday's press statement, we have been able to locate another passenger. They are all well and quarantine orders are being served to them. In total, 47 of the 48 passengers (excluding the case) have now been identified. The names of the remaining 2 passengers who we have still been unable to locate are:

(a)Ho Kee Siong

(b)Wang Ying

NEA will continue to try to trace the remaining based on information received from SIR as well as information received through the hotline. The Ministry urges these persons or anyone who knows their whereabouts to call 91788389 with the information.

Update on Children with SARS

The 4-year old boy from Pat Schoolhouse was a SARS case who is currently stable. He last attended the Schoolhouse on 21 March. As a precautionary measure, the Schoolhouse was closed. None of the children in the Schoolhouse have developed SARS as of today, 11 days later. The student at Pei Cai Secondary school who had been diagnosed to have suspected SARS, had a history of contact with her schoolmates during an activity during the schoolbreak on 15 March. Although she was well at that time, as a precautionary measure, 192 students whom had come into contact with her were asked to stay at home. To date, none of them have been diagnosed with SARS.

Update on case of death on board Kota Hasil:

A post-mortem examination was conducted today on the Indonesian crewman who died on board the Kota Hasil on 28 March 03. He was found to have a lung abscess. He has not been classified as a SARS death. The body is being exported to his home country.

Precautionary measures:

Singapore has taken extra precautionary measures, beyond WHO's recommended control measures, to ensure that the spread is contained. These include isolating all suspected and SARS patients in TTSH, enhanced infection control measures for hospital staff and instituting home quarantine measures for those who have come into contact with people diagnosed with SARS.

To minimise the import of SARS cases, Singapore has also tightened screening measures for incoming flights into Changi Airport from affected areas as identified by WHO. These include the issuing of health advisory cards and the checking of visibly unwell passengers by nurses. Those who have fever will be sent to TTSH for assessment. As a first line of defence, any visibly unwell passenger from affected areas will be asked to obtain a doctor's certification before they are allowed to board the flight to Singapore.

The key strategy is to identify suspect cases once they show symptoms of the disease and isolate them to prevent transmission to more people. The closure of schools is to allay the concerns of parents. We will step up efforts to help the public understand the nature of SARS and how they could help us in our efforts to minimise the risk of community spread.

We believe that if everyone exercises social responsibility, we can tackle the SARS outbreak here calmly, without too many disruptions to our normal routines. We urge everyone to help us in our efforts by taking these simple precautions:

- Heed our travel advisory and avoid travelling to Hong Kong, Hanoi and Guangdong province in China for the time being, unless absolutely necessary.

- If you have travelled to these places, be vigilant and seek immediate medical attention if you have fever (more than 38 degree celsius) and respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath or breathing difficulty. Do not fly if you develop such symptoms.

- If you think that you have been exposed to persons diagnosed with SARS, and later develop a fever, do not go to work. See a doctor immediately.

- If you are unwell, avoid crowded places.