Singapore confirms the identity of the 10th of 13 recorded cases of Wuhan coronavirus in the city-state as a seafarer from an unnamed cargo vessel, reports Riviera Maritime Media.
Travelled from the epicenter
Singapore’s ministry of health (MOH) released a statement saying the unnamed Chinese national is a 56-year-old man who travelled from the epicentre of the viral outbreak in Wuhan, China. He arrived Singapore on 20 January.
The statement said that he was asymptomatic during his flight to Singapore.
Suspected at a screening station at Marina South Pier
“He subsequently developed symptoms on 21 January, and was admitted to National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on 28 January after being identified as a suspect case at a health screening station at Marina South Pier.”
Test results confirmation
Subsequent test results confirmed Wuhan coronavirus infection on 29 January at about 2pm, the MOH said. The man had lived and worked on board a cargo vessel before being admitted to hospital.
MOH’s immediate action
MOH said it has begun epidemiological investigations and started tracing the patient’s contact with others “to identify individuals who had close contact.”
Conditions stable?
Of the 13 total cases reported in Singapore thus far, the MOH said all remain in stable condition and most are seeing improvement.
MPA’s advisory
The Maritime Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore released an advisory on the Wuhan coronavirus urging the shipping industry to take precautionary measures to battle the virus.
- Remain vigilant and adopt good hygiene practices at all times.
- Ship crew who feel unwell or experience symptoms linked to the coronavirus infection including
- fever,
- cough and
- shortness of breath
were directed to inform their ship’s master immediately.
- The Master of the ship should then contact his ship’s agent and make the necessary arrangements to seek medical attention.
Steps from MPA
- MPA has implemented a temperature screening at all of its checkpoints, including ferry and cruise terminals, for inbound travellers.
- New visitors with recent travel history in Hubei or with PRC passports issued in Hubei, will not be allowed entry into Singapore or transit through Singapore.
Coronavirus impact
The coronavirus outbreak in China has so far killed 171 people, infected more than 8,000 and spread to every region within the country.
Infections have been identified in individuals in at least 21 other countries, according to an interactive map tracking the spread of the disease created by Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering and regularly updated with data from the WHO, CDC and other sources.
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Source: Riviera Maritime Media
