Wuhan's Coronavirus

by Rebecca

It is here. We have 7 cases to date of Coronavirus in Singapore.

All 7 came directly in from Wuhan either before they were quarantined or before the travelers were showing symptoms. 50 million people have now been quarantined in Wuhan. Singapore gets a lot of flights from China so no one is surprised that it trickled in.

I'm not overly concerned, but it's definitely here. I saw the giant queue at the Drug Store of people buying face masks. We're seeing a lot more masks on people on the sidewalk and on the bus.

Singapore is obviously trying to keep ahead of the virus. Chinese New Year is a peak travel time. They've stepped up their actions regarding the virus.  Teacher and students who have been to China are banned from attending school for 14 days after their return. We've all been told to wear masks if we have a cough. I've gotten emails from all of the programs the kids are in, saying they will be checking all children for fever daily and extending the 14 day ban from activities to anyone who is returning from China.

We don't go to school. Jonathan could work from home if it became an issue. On the other hand our grocery store is in the largest mall in Singapore and we walk through the busy MRT station to get there. We generally take public transit. Jonathan rides the bus everyday. I've been taking the kids to a Drama Camp this week on the bus each day also.  We live across from a major tourist destination - Sentosa Island.

We had a case of the virus on Sentosa. The infected person stayed in one of the hotels there. They also went to Universal Studios and the Mall on the same day that I did. Apparently close contact is considered being within 2 meters for over 30 minutes. Thankfully I have an Express Pass and didn't stand in line with anyone for that long.  I also didn't have the kids with me.

Of course this virus brings to mind 2003's SARS, so I became curious as to how Singapore fared. In 2003 Singapore had 4.1 million people, of which 238 were infected and 33 killed by SARS.

The good thing is SARS more than prepared Singapore for anything similar. They're just dusting off their existing plans off for the Coronavirus.