140 S’poreans still in Wuhan, 4 not evacuated earlier due to symptoms, hospitalisation: Lawrence Wong
Ninety two Singaporeans arrived home from Wuhan China on Jan 30. Four Singaporeans were unable to board the flight as three were showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus and one was hospitalised, Parliament heard on Monday.
SINGAPORE — Efforts are underway to see what can be done for an estimated 140 Singaporeans who remain in the Chinese city of Wuhan amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong told Parliament on Monday (Feb 3).
Mr Wong also revealed that four other Singaporeans had been unable to board an evacuation flight last week. Three had shown symptoms of the virus and were deemed not fit to fly, and one was hospitalised, he said.
The 140 Singaporeans are in Wuhan for various reasons, such as being unwilling to leave non-Singaporean spouses behind.
An evacuation flight last week brought home 92 Singaporeans who had been stranded in the city, the epicentre of the outbreak, which has been in lockdown for more than a week by the Chinese authorities.
The global death toll from the outbreak climbed to 362 on Sunday, with the vast majority occurring in China’s Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, and one in the Philippines.
Responding to a question by Mr Alex Yam, Member of Parliament (MP) for Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency (GRC) about Singaporeans in China, Mr Wong said the Singapore mission in Beijing has been in touch with the 140 Singaporeans, and that arrangements are currently being worked out with the Chinese authorities.
“We believe there are still about 140 Singaporeans in Wuhan now — most of them have spouses who may not be Singaporeans and so they have either chosen to remain in China for the time being or they would like to come back, and we have to work out the arrangements, because it is not so straightforward being married to a non-Singaporean,” said Mr Wong, who co-chairs a taskforce coordinating Singapore’s response to the virus.
He clarified that at this point, the taskforce is not aware of any Singaporeans outside of the Hubei province who have been infected with the virus.
“We are still in touch with the Chinese authorities to see what else can be done for the group of people who wish to come back, and we are also in touch with the Singaporeans directly,” said Mr Wong.
Nee Soon GRC MP Lim Wee Kiak then asked what medical help is available for the four in Wuhan who were left behind by last week’s flight, and whether the three Singaporeans who showed symptoms could have been evacuated to Singapore in any case.
Said Dr Lim: “I hope the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will work harder now to see whether we can evacuate them back.”
In response, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said it would be “most unwise” to put people on commercial aircraft when they are potentially or actively spreading the virus, especially in the context of an ongoing global epidemic.
“So there was good medical rationale and that’s why the Chinese authorities made the right decision that these persons should not fly,” said Dr Balakrishnan.
“If they did, it would be contravening not only their own regulations but also WHO (World Health Organization) recommendations. So we understand that,” he said, adding that he had been monitoring the situation and was aware of the four Singaporeans who could not board the flight.
He added that China has been “very responsible and very responsive and is taking all necessary measures to look after our Singaporeans who are still there”.
Dr Balakrishnan also stressed that the novel coronavirus “is not just China’s problem”.
“This is a common threat confronting all of us. This virus does not respect passports or nationalities, race or language, and that’s why we must all cooperate and collaborate to resolve this problem together,” he said, echoing earlier comments made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Health Minister Gan Kim Yong.
“I commit that we will continue to work closely with the Chinese authorities and any way in which we can help them is also helping all of us collectively.”
Singapore will also do its best to ensure that the Singaporeans receive the necessary treatment in Wuhan or in other places in China, he said. He urged all Singaporeans who are in China to e-register with MFA.
“Rest assured, all Singaporeans who are overseas. In MFA, we won’t leave anyone behind. We will look out for you,” he said.
