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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) is trying to contact 43 people who were on the same flights as the latest three H1N1 infected persons.
The flights are United Airlines 895 which touched down in Singapore on May 25 at 0036 hours, United Airlines 803 on May 26 at 2353 hours, and Singapore Airlines SQ917 on May 26 at 1750 hours.
The Health Ministry said in a statement released on Friday that the four patients who have been infected with Influenza A (H1N1) have relatively mild symptoms and are doing well, and are expected to recover.
All 31 of their close contacts are on home quarantine order (HQO), and are also reported to be well. They have been given Tamiflu.
Singapore's first case – the 22-year-old female SMU student who returned from New York after a study-business trip - is into her third day of Tamiflu treatment. MOH said her fever has subsided and she is in stable condition.
All her close contacts, comprising 71 on-flight contacts and two local contacts, have been accounted for.
HQOs have been served to 25 of her close contacts - 10 Singaporeans and 15 foreigners. Their HQOs will expire on June 2. The remaining 48 close contacts are not in Singapore.
With regards to the 28-year-old Singaporean man who returned from Chicago on United Airlines flight 895 on May 25 at 0036 hours, the Health Ministry said that apart from his two visits to the clinic and to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, he remained at home the entire period after arriving back in Singapore.
His only close contact – his wife – has been placed under HQO until June 2.
HQOs have also been served to two close contacts of the 28-year-old American female expatriate who returned from Honolulu, confirmed as the third H1N1 case in Singapore.
She was on United Airlines flight 803 via Tokyo, arriving in Singapore on May 26 at 2353 hours. Her friend and her maid have been placed under home quarantine until June 3.
Finally, three HQOs have also been served to close contacts of the 43-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who returned from San Francisco on Singapore Airlines flight 917 via Manila on May 26 at 1750 hours.
The HQOs were served to her friend and two office colleagues, and the orders will expire on June 3.
The Health Ministry said contact tracing for all the close contacts of the latest three confirmed cases is still in progress.
So far, 122 passengers on the three flights who are close contacts of the latest three confirmed cases have been identified. Only 61 of those passengers entered Singapore.
The MOH said it has managed to contact 18 of them and HQOs will be served to them.
The ministry also said passengers within the first three and back rows of the cases who have not been contacted yet should call the MOH hotline at 1800-333- 9999 expeditiously to enable the ministry to check on their health condition.
The affected rows for SQ917 on May 26 are 30-36; rows for UA803 on May 26 are 30-36, and rows for UA895 on May 25 are 52-58.
- CNA/yb
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