Outward Bound Singapore camps on Pulau Ubin to be used as quarantine facility

SINGAPORE — Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) camps on Pulau Ubin will be used as a quarantine facility as part of measures to deal with the Wuhan virus, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said on Tuesday (Jan 28).

In response to CNA’s queries, an MND spokesperson said the Government will ensure that anyone who has been served with a quarantine order will be housed in "appropriate locations".

"In addition to selected chalets and university hostels, OBS camps in Pulau Ubin have also been identified as a Government Quarantine Facility (GQF)," the spokesperson added.

The camps will undergo a thorough cleaning process, in accordance with guidelines from the Ministry of Health, to make sure they are safe to stay in.

"As people staying at the GQFs are not supposed to come into contact with others, this eliminates the possibility of the spread of virus through person-to-person contact," the spokesperson added.

The new coronavirus, which originated in China’s Wuhan, has killed more than 100 people and infected more than 4,000.

There have been seven confirmed cases in Singapore.

The quarantine facilities are "part of the Government's response plan for emergencies and may be activated from time to time", the MND spokesperson said.

It is possible that they may be used as quarantine housing to prevent the spread of the Wuhan virus among the community, MND added. 

On Monday, Singapore announced that three hostels each from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) will be used as quarantine facilities. 

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said at a press conference that most students, including foreigners, that are affected will be transferred to other hostels on campus.

He apologised to the students affected and said that "this is part of the national response".

"We hope it won't happen, but should there be more contact tracing and confirmed cases, then we will need the facilities. So, it is better now before it happens that we get the facilities ready," he added. CNA

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