The Singapore Government announced on June 9th that there is now an 18th case of Swine Flu. Only 8 patients remain quarantined at Tan Tok Seng Hospital, while the other 10 have been discharged and sent home. The new victim is a Filipino woman who flew to Singapore from Manila on Philippines Airline Flight PR501 on June 8th.
Yellow Alert
Singapore remains on Yellow Alert, in which there is a higher risk of import and the government will try to prevent the spread through public health measures including quarantining those with the virus. Before any cases even arrived in Singapore, the country was on Orange Alert, in which clusters of the virus have already appeared outside of Singapore and the strategy is to suppress the spread of the virus locally. Status Orange Alert is only two levels away from status Black Alert, where the situation would be considered out of control.
Overreaction by Government?
Some people do believe the Singapore Government has overreacted to the Swine Flu. Most recently, the Australian Premier John Brumby and the Victorian Tourism Industry Council are upset at Singapore's recent announcement advising citizens not to travel to Victoria where the number of cases have risen to 874. Premier Brumby stated that the announcement was "inappropriate and unfortunate, saying normal seasonal flu posed more risks," according to Daniella Miletic and Peter Gregory in the June 6, 2009 TheAge.com article "Victoria on Swine Flu Alarm List."
After the outbreak first appeared in Mexico and the United States, Singapore jumped-in with somewhat premature tactics. Back in May, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) set up their military's medical centres island wide in order to have additional space to "isolate suspected H1N1 victims," according to Jermyn Chow in the May 5, 2009 Straight Times article "Checks at SAF Camps."
In addition, schools were taking extreme precautions as well. Students at Republic Polytechnic (RP) were required to bring a thermometer to school with them and check their temperatures twice daily, submitting their data on-line. If they forgot the thermometer, students had to pay a $5 fine. The RP school also set-up a thermal scanner and screening center at the entrance, according to Jalelah Abu Baker, Amelia Tan and Jermyn Chow in the May 5, 2009 Straight Times article "No Thermometer? Fine $5?"
Current Precautions
Since cases of Swine Flu are slowly climbing, thermal scanners remain at airports. The May 4th government order of a seven day quarantine for those passengers arriving from Mexico was lifted on May 16, according to the May 16th, 2009 Singapore News article "MOH Lifts Home Quarantine Order For Recent Travellers to Mexico." However, the Ministry of Health has advised residents to avoid travelling to certain countries, including parts of Australia and Mexico. They have also advised people to avoid crowded areas when abroad and maintain superior standards of personal hygiene, even at home.
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