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SINGAPORE: More confirmed cases of Influenza A(H1N1) have emerged at the Asian Youth Games (AYG) Village in Singapore.
Four members of the Hong Kong football team taking part in the AYG are the latest confirmed cases.
This brings the total number of confirmed H1N1 cases at the Games to five. The first case was a Filipino footballer.
The four athletes from Hong Kong are being treated at the Singapore General Hospital and the rest of the delegation quarantined for a week at the Aloha Resort in Loyang.
The AYG's medical team conducted precautionary swab tests on the 21-strong delegation - including 16 players, three coaches, a physiotherapist and a team official - after being told by Hong Kong's Health Ministry on Sunday that two players in the team, who did not travel to Singapore, had tested positive for H1N1. The team's two Singaporean liaison officers tested negative for the virus.
The Hong Kong football team's match with Saudi Arabia at 5pm on Monday has been cancelled.
In an update on the football player from the Philippines, the organising commmittee said he is still undergoing medical treatment at the Communicable Disease Centre.
The 14-year-old developed flu-like symptoms last Friday and tested positive for the virus a day later.
One other Philippine team member had felt unwell and was sent to KK Hospital but he tested negative for H1N1. He is now under quarantine with the rest of the team at the Aloha Loyang Resort.
The confirmed Hong Kong and Philippine cases were all imported ones. None caught the virus locally in Singapore.
The AYG organising committee co-chair, Oon Jin Teik, said the Games is well prepared even with two football teams having confirmed cases of H1N1. He said there are different variables which determine any further cancellation of matches.
His co-chair, Sum Chee Wah, said the strategy is to keep H1N1 infections to its lowest, and provide medical assistance.
The AYG medical services committee said the emphasis is on ensuring the safety of athletes. It will step up temperature checks and remind athletes to maintain their social distance to prevent chances of infection and community spread.
- CNA/938LIVE/ir
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