Thomas Latt
Tuesday 23rd June 2015
MERS inevitable in Singapore, minister says
After the first confirmed case of MERS in Southeast
Asia, Singapore's Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said the virus is almost
certain to arrive on Singapore's shores at some point, due to its
status as a global air transport hub.
It echoes similar comments made by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a week ago.
Thailand
announced its first MERS case - a 75-year old man who had arrived from
Oman who was at a Thai hospital seeking treatment for heart disease.
Bumrungrad hospital is noted for treating medical tourists.
The
death toll in South Korea is now at 25, which puts the fatality rate
from confirmed MERS cases at 14.5%, the Korean Ministry of Health and
Welfare said.
"Given the current developments, we have judged
that it has levelled off, but we need to watch further spread, further
cases from so-called intensive control hospitals", said Ministry
official Kwon Deok-cheol.
Minister Gan said repeated reminders to
stay vigilant for warning signs of MERS have been issued to hospitals
and local doctors but he did not say whether temperature screening would
be expanded to arriving air travellers from Thailand.
After Thai
authorities revealed details of the first MERS case, shares in Thai
tourism companies, including airlines and hotels fell.
Airports of Thailand shares fell by more than 4% following the news, despite no new reported cases of the virus in the country.
~ AATO ~