MINISTERIAL STATEMENT ON SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS) BY MR WONG KAN SENG, MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS AND CHAIRMAN OF MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE ON SARS AT PARLIAMENT
ON 24 APR 2003

The SARS problem we face today is the most serious threat to our heath care system, our society and our economy. As far as I remember, it is unprecedented. It is here to stay for some time. The Government has marshalled all its resources to deal with it and will spare no effort in containing and controlling the problem. We have to continue to function and to carry on with life, or we will come to a standstill. The focus of the
Ministerial Committee has thus been to put in place all possible measures
to return life in Singapore as near to normalcy as possible, with some changes to how we do things. At the same time, we have also been thinking through and working out plans to address all possible scenarios that could arise, prevent them from occurring if we can, or if not, ensure that we are well prepared to deal with them if they occur.

Toughening up enforcement
The Minister for Health has dealt in depth on the measures that have been taken on the medical front and in our hospitals to help contain SARS. The Deputy Prime Minister has outlined the many precautionary measures that the Ministerial Committee has put in place at our airports and land checkpoints, at workplaces and markets and hawker centres to allay public concern and prevent the spread of SARS. He has also outlined some of the scenarios that we have made plans for, if they should occur. I will not repeat them.

The one point that I want to emphasize is that the Government is going all out to contain the spread of SARS; to protect you and your family's health. For us to succeed in containing the SARS problem and to restore life in Singapore to an even keel, we need every Singaporean to play his part. Everyone must adopt socially responsible behavior.

As the Deputy Prime Minister has pointed out, the entire Government machinery has been mobilized to tackle this problem. We cannot allow all these efforts to be undone by some irresponsible individuals. On a personal note, I find the behavior of some Singaporeans on Home Quarantine Orders (HQO) very disappointing. For example, the well-publicized case of the irresponsible and cavalier attitude of the family of 8 who are related to the 72-year-old SARS case in Pasir Panjang Wholesale Market. This irresponsible behavior is something that should not be condoned as people like them are putting many others at risk. These individuals either clearly do not understand the seriousness of the situation, or simply do not care about the danger their actions could pose to others. We will come down hard on such irresponsible individuals from now on.

Hence, we have decided that we would no longer merely issue a warning
when an individual is found to have breached his HQO. We would immediately electronically tag anyone who breaches it. All individuals on HQOs are checked regularly via the electronic camera installed in their homes. The CISCO officers will call them on the telephone and ask them to turn on their cameras. The cameras are on only when they turn it on themselves. But, there were some who simply refused to answer the calls to be checked or they actually went out. Hence, we have also decided that we would tag anyone who cannot be contacted within 3 calls. A total of 9 people on HQOs have since been tagged as they could not be contacted after 3 calls. With the amendments to the Infectious Diseases Act to allow for composition fines to be imposed, we will now also not hesitate to impose a fine on such individuals as well. If such measures still do not work, we will charge the recalcitrant HQO breaker in court and have him thrown in jail. It is unfortunate that we have to resort to such tough measures to ensure that Singaporeans obey their HQOs, but this is a serious issue. We are also making it an offence for any individual to lie to the doctor when the doctor asks him some basic questions, e.g. whether he has a contact or relative who is a SARS patient, whether he has been to a SARS-affected country in the last 14 days, whether he has been doctor hopping and so on. We do not want to implement these measures lightly, as we recognize the emotional anxiety and fear that some of these persons on HQOs may be facing, but to win this battle against SARS we cannot afford any kinks in our armour. Otherwise, we put the whole community at risk, and the consequential impact will be disastrous.

Measures to prevent further infection
Singapore is an open economy. Our borders must remain open and we want to continue to welcome visitors, tourists and businessmen to our shores. However, we have put precautionary measures in place to isolate and contain the SARS problem at our entry points. Thus, all incoming air passengers from SARS-affected areas and all points in China are subject to temperature screening. Health advisories and health declaration cards have also been implemented at all our checkpoints. Since yesterday, we have also deployed three thermal imaging scanners at the land checkpoints. One each has been deployed at the Tuas and Woodlands Checkpoints to check the temperature of incoming bus and foot passengers. Another has been deployed at Woodlands Checkpoint to check outgoing passengers. We will deploy more of such scanners over the next two weeks at the airport and the land checkpoints. In addition, manual temperature checks will also be implemented within the next two weeks for passengers coming in by car and motorcycles at the two land checkpoints. These checks will be done at the secondary check area where 100 per cent security checks are now done.

As a responsible member of the international community, we have also taken steps to ensure that we do not inadvertently "export" SARS to the rest of the world. Temperature checks have thus been instituted for all outgoing passengers at Changi Airport, and bus and foot passengers at the Woodlands Checkpoint. This will be extended to Tuas Checkpoint in two weeks' time. In addition, we will ensure that SARS patients and those on HQOs are not allowed to leave Singapore. They will be picked up and stopped at immigration if they attempt to do so, and the law will come down hard on them.

We are working closely with the Malaysian Government to exchange information on SARS patients and minimize cross-border infection. The Joint Border Working Group, comprising health and immigration officials from both countries, have been working to establish the agreed protocols and procedures to enable SARS cases to be detected at our land checkpoints. We are also keen to share information with the Malaysians on suspected and probable SARS cases that have claimed travel history to Singapore. Exchange of information on when the person came to Singapore, where he went and whom he met is crucial to enable both countries to contain the spread of SARS.

Since 11 Apr 2003, new work permit and employment pass holders from
SARS-affected areas are placed on a 10-day quarantine upon arrival. Similarly, by next week, once all the necessary logistical arrangements are settled, we will also place all new and returning foreign students attending private schools, and professional visit pass (PVP) holders coming in for a month or more from SARS-affected areas, on a 10-day quarantine upon their arrival. Family members accompanying the foreign students and workers will also be subject to the 10-day quarantine requirement.

The private schools and sponsors of the PVP applicants will be required to arrange suitable accommodation where the student or PVP holder can be quarantined. These foreign students, PVP applicants and family members will be subject to daily temperature checks. The private schools and sponsors of the PVPs will also be required to hire doctors to conduct pre- and post-quarantine medical check-ups for them. The student pass or professional visit pass will only be issued at the end of the quarantine period, and upon presentation of a medical report to certify a clean bill of health. With these measures, we will minimize the possibility of transmission of SARS in the workplace, private schools or living quarters of foreign workers. We have to take special measures to quarantine these groups of foreigners, as they are more likely to live and mix with the wider Singaporean community.

We are also beefing up our contact tracing capability by seconding more officers from other Ministries and Statutory Boards to assist their MOH and NEA colleagues. This will allow quicker and better contact tracing to be done so that cases that have come in close contact with probable SARS patients can be quickly isolated for further observation. A public communication campaign is ongoing to educate people about SARS. Pamphlets have been distributed, new ones are updated, and messages through television and radio have been put out to inform the public about SARS and what they can do to help themselves prevent SARS. The radio will also be used to put across such messages in dialect to reach out to senior citizens. We are also organizing dialogue sessions held by all the grassroots organisations' advisors to reach out directly to as many people as possible. The Prime Minister will also chair a dialogue on 2 May to talk to community and religious leaders, shopkeepers and stall-holders. To help the public remember the hotline numbers for SARS, the general enquiry hotline will be changed to 1800 333 9999, and the hotline number to call for an ambulance to send someone to TTSH should the person need to check if he has SARS will be changed to 993. These two numbers will be effective from midnight this Sunday.