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SINGAPORE: Two table tennis matches involving Singapore teams at the inaugural Asian Youth Games (AYG) have been given the green light to play following an initial scare that some of the players may have been exposed to the H1N1 flu virus.
Two matches slated for Wednesday morning were pushed back.
The mixed team comprising Isabelle Li and Clarence Chew were supposed to start their first Group D match against the Philippines at 10.15 am on Wednesday but their opponents were left waiting for an hour before the match was postponed.
The team of Tay Jit Kiat and Chau Hai Qing were scheduled for a second match against Nepal at 12.45pm but they did not appear.
The matches have been rescheduled to take place later in the afternoon.
In a statement, the Singapore Asian Youth Games Organising Committee (SAYGOC) said the decision was made to postpone the matches as two male players on the Singapore team were identified on Tuesday night as potentially having been in contact with a confirmed H1N1 flu case.
A member of the Singapore national youth team, who competed with the paddlers at the Southeast Asian Junior table tennis championships in Bangkok last week, was diagnosed with H1N1 flu on Sunday and contact tracing was conducted.
The member who contracted the H1N1 flu is not taking part in the AYG.
SAYGOC said the postponement of the matches is consistent with the public health principle of taking immediate action that errs on the side of caution.
Subsequent detailed inquiry by the Ministry of Health's Contact Tracing Centre confirmed that the two male players did not have sustained exposure to the confirmed H1N1 case during the infectious period.
As such, the two players are deemed not to be a close contact and will not be quarantined.
They have been given the green light to continue with their matches with their female teammates in the mixed doubles matches being held from 4.45pm on Wednesday.
- CNA/yb/yt
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