Avoid travel to Wuhan, says MOH amid Wuhan’s citywide lockdown

SINGAPORE — Singaporeans are advised to avoid travelling to Wuhan in the Hubei province of China, in light of the coronavirus outbreak, the Singapore Health Ministry (MOH) said in a public health travel advisory on Thursday (Jan 23).

“MOH also reminds the public to continue to exercise caution and attention to personal hygiene when travelling to the rest of China,” it said.

The day before, the ministry had advised against non-essential travel. The advisory comes as the authorities in China lock down Wuhan to stem a possible global pandemic. Officials there said that the city would shut down all urban transport networks and suspend all outgoing flights as of 10am Thursday (10am Singapore time), effectively putting Wuhan’s 11 million residents under quarantine.

The city is the epicentre of the outbreak that has so far infected more than 570 people and killed 17 in China and other countries.

On Thursday, budget airline Scoot said on its website that it is cancelling its eight flights to Wuhan from Jan 23 to 26, while flights on Jan 27 and beyond will continue to operate as scheduled for now.

Chinese budget carrier Urumqi Air, the only other airline that flies directly to Wuhan from Changi, has also cancelled all flights until further notice.

Other international airlines have suspended flights to the city, affecting common layover routes from Changi Airport to the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport.

Taiwan's China Airlines will suspend its flights from Taoyuan International to Wuhan until Jan 29, while Malaysia's AirAsia temporarily cancelled all flights to and from Wuhan until Jan 28.

AirAsia operates return flights to Wuhan from Kota Kinabalu in East Malaysia, and Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand. The budget carrier is allowing free rerouting to any other China airports for all Wuhan flights until Feb 29, and is offering full refunds until Feb 15 for those who want to cancel flights to Wuhan, among other options.

In a Facebook post, Dr Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health, confirmed that all direct flights between Singapore and Wuhan have been suspended.

Referring to MOH’s latest advisory, Dr Lam urged travellers to China to be vigilant, to practise good personal hygiene and avoid crowded places.

MOH said that it has put in place precautionary measures to reduce the risk of travellers bringing in the virus, including putting up more temperature screening stations and health advisory posters at land and sea checkpoints, as well as distributing health advisory notices to travellers coming in from China.

There are 10 suspected cases identified here so far, though none are confirmed. Suspect cases are defined as patients who have pneumonia and developed symptoms within two weeks after travelling to China, or those with acute respiratory infections who had been to any hospital in China in the same 14-day period.

MOH advises all travellers to monitor their health closely for two weeks upon their return to Singapore and to seek immediate medical attention if they feel unwell.

“If they have a fever or respiratory symptoms (for example, cough or runny nose), they should wear a mask and call the clinic ahead of the visit,” it said. They should also inform the doctor of their travel history.

Travellers should adopt the following precautions:

• Avoid contact with live animals including poultry and birds, and avoid eating raw and undercooked meats

• Avoid crowded places and close contact with people who are unwell or showing symptoms of illness

• Observe good personal hygiene

• Practise frequent hand-washing with soap — before handling food or eating, after going to the toilet, or when hands are soiled after coughing or sneezing

• Wear a mask if they have respiratory symptoms, such as a cough or a runny nose

• Cover their mouths with a tissue paper when coughing or sneezing, and dispose of the tissue paper in the rubbish bin immediately.

• Seek medical attention promptly if they are feeling unwell