No New Wuhan Virus Case Today; 1st Time Since CNY Eve Whereby S’pore Has No New Cases in 2 Days

By
George Yang
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If news like this continue daily, the Wuhan virus might finally part of a painful memory and nothing else, because for two days in a row, there’s no reported new cases.

But of course, let’s not get complacent and aim for a third day.

First Time Since CNY Eve Whereby S’pore Has No New Cases in 2 Days

This is the first time since CNY Eve that MOH has announced a zero-confirm-case for two days.

Since the year of the Rat, there has been only one day in which a new case wasn’t announced:

23 January 2020: 1st case announced
24 January 2020: 2nd and 3rd case announced
25 January 2020: No new case announced
26 January 2020: 4th case announced
27 January 2020: 5th case announced
28 January 2020: 6th and 7th case announced
29 January 2020: 8th, 9th and 10th case announced
30 January 2020: 11th, 12th and 13th case announced
31 January 2020: 14th, 15th and 16th case announced
1 February 2020: 17th and 18th case announced
2 February 2020: No new case announced

(P.S. Do note that these are the dates that the cases were announced; some of them were tested positive a day before that.)

And here’s an even better news.

Wuhan Virus Status in Singapore

Without any new case for two days, the number of pending cases has also be reduced to 32.

In addition, 256 close contacts of the confirmed cases have been identified, and 187 of them are still in Singapore. MOH has managed to contact all of them except one.

All the 18 confirmed cases are doing well, too, and most of their condition are improving.

MOH: We’re Prepared

In a ministerial statement to the whole-of-government response to Parliament today (the entire transcript is also published in MOH’s website), MOH says that they’ve been preparing for something like this since SARS, and have “strengthened our epidemiological surveillance and containment capabilities”.

Well, the fast response to the outbreak is a result of that preparedness. I mean, can you believe that the first case was just announced about 11 days ago? I thought it was 11 months ago.

And in 11 days, quarantine zones were set up, millions of surgical masks were given and travel restrictions were implemented.

So, how is the battle fought?

The entire fight comprises multiple lines of defences:

  • Measures to stop imported cases into Singapore (e.g. temperature screening, travel restrictions, etc) by policy changes and whatnot
  • Detection and containment of the virus by healthcare workers
  • Prevention of virus spreading by us

So, while we can’t change policies and be in the frontline, we can be the soldiers that can play our part though social responsibility. Wash your hands after you poo is one way, but below is what you should know:

  • Avoid contact with live animals including poultry and birds, and consumption of raw and undercooked meats;
  • Avoid crowded places and close contact with people who are unwell or showing symptoms of illness;
  • Observe good personal hygiene;
  • Practise frequent hand washing with soap (e.g. before handling food or eating, after going to toilet, or when hands are dirtied by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing);
  • Wear a mask if you have respiratory symptoms such as a cough or runny nose;
  • Cover your mouth with a tissue paper when coughing or sneezing, and dispose the soiled tissue paper in the rubbish bin immediately; and
  • Seek medical attention promptly if you are feeling unwell.

The statement also mentioned that there’s a chance that the virus would mutate, so we must continue to stay prepared.

In any case, it’s goody to know that the fight is going well.

Let’s hope for another good news tomorrow!

Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]