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Changi Airport hosts isolation exercise as Health Ministry confirms no suspected case of Ebola in S’pore

With cities worldwide on heightened alert over an Ebola outbreak in West Africa, an emergency preparedness exercise involving a Portable Medical Isolation Unit (PMIU) was held at Changi Airport yesterday. The Ministry of Health (MOH) also clarified that there was no suspected case of Ebola in Singapore, after reports surfaced yesterday afternoon about a Nigerian woman here suspected of having the disease.

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With cities worldwide on heightened alert over an Ebola outbreak in West Africa, an emergency preparedness exercise involving a Portable Medical Isolation Unit (PMIU) was held at Changi Airport yesterday. The Ministry of Health (MOH) also clarified that there was no suspected case of Ebola in Singapore, after reports surfaced yesterday afternoon about a Nigerian woman here suspected of having the disease.

Yesterday’s exercise, which involved the MOH, the Communicable Diseases Centre (CDC) and Changi Airport Group, saw participants simulating the handling of a patient who had symptoms of Ebola, such as high fever and abdominal pains, through the use of a PMIU. There are five PMIUs in Singapore, and the unit is used for transferring people who are severely ill with signs of highly infectious diseases to hospital.

The drill was based on a scenario in which a doctor sounded the alarm after tending to a walk-in patient at a clinic at Changi Airport’s Terminal 2. The doctor made a teleconference call with the CDC and the MOH to discuss whether to activate the PMIU. A team in protective gear turned up shortly after and the patient was placed in a PMIU (above left) before being taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) via an ambulance. TTSH has earlier been identified as where management of suspected Ebola cases will be centralised.

The drill came amid reports that a Nigerian woman suffering from a high fever had apparently been transferred from Gleneagles Hospital to TTSH’s Communicable Diseases Centre. In a statement, the MOH said there is no suspected case of Ebola in Singapore at present.

“The case in question was indeed referred to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, but she does not fit the case definition. The MOH will continue to closely monitor the situation and continually assess and calibrate its measures,” it added.

The ministry has earlier said the risk of Ebola in Singapore remains low as there is limited human traffic between West Africa and Singapore. PHOTOS: DON WONG

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