In response to the World Health Organization (WHO) statement from the Emergency Committee Tuesday, the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) announced the commencement of temperature screening at air checkpoints for passengers arriving from affected countries in the Middle East beginning 18 May 2014, according to a press release today.
Singapore health officials say the risk of an outbreak in the country remains low as sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus has not been reported. Nonetheless, the possibility of an imported case here cannot be ruled out due to international travel.
They say all suspected and confirmed cases will be isolated and managed under strict airborne infection control precautions. If a case is detected, MOH will conduct contact tracing when appropriate, and all close contacts will be placed under quarantine. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page.
The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) will continue to work with the relevant travel agents to ensure that MOH’s Health Advisory is provided to Umrah and Haj pilgrims. There is currently no advisory against travel to countries of the Arabian Peninsula, or to countries reporting imported cases of MERS-CoV.
