By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 11 June 2009 1911 hrs
Health screening officers monitor passengers through a thermal scanner at the Changi International Airport
SINGAPORE: If the World Health Organisation (WHO) declares a global H1N1 flu pandemic, Singapore will gradually move from a strategy of containment to mitigation when it comes to dealing with the virus.
This means that instead of being treated at hospitals, patients will be eventually treated by general practitioners at clinics. Home quarantine orders will also be lifted when there is community spread.
But for now, Singapore will still try its best with the containment strategy to buy time to prepare for the pandemic.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said general practitioners are still being trained and the lab capabilities for testing H1N1 need to be ramped up further.
"All of us know that while we will try our best to stop the spread, at some stage, we will be overwhelmed," he said.
"Community spread is a matter of time, but our efforts have been meaningful. It has been two months since WHO sounded the alarm and there is no community spread in Singapore."
The fatality rate for H1N1 may not be high, but it has caused deaths in pregnant mums and young people, making it different from seasonal flu.
Mr Khaw said the H1N1 vaccine will be ordered in batches, although no decisions have been made on who or when to vaccinate.
- CNA/so
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
Health screening officers monitor passengers through a thermal scanner at the Changi International AirportSINGAPORE: If the World Health Organisation (WHO) declares a global H1N1 flu pandemic, Singapore will gradually move from a strategy of containment to mitigation when it comes to dealing with the virus.
This means that instead of being treated at hospitals, patients will be eventually treated by general practitioners at clinics. Home quarantine orders will also be lifted when there is community spread.
But for now, Singapore will still try its best with the containment strategy to buy time to prepare for the pandemic.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said general practitioners are still being trained and the lab capabilities for testing H1N1 need to be ramped up further.
"All of us know that while we will try our best to stop the spread, at some stage, we will be overwhelmed," he said.
"Community spread is a matter of time, but our efforts have been meaningful. It has been two months since WHO sounded the alarm and there is no community spread in Singapore."
The fatality rate for H1N1 may not be high, but it has caused deaths in pregnant mums and young people, making it different from seasonal flu.
Mr Khaw said the H1N1 vaccine will be ordered in batches, although no decisions have been made on who or when to vaccinate.
- CNA/so
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
No comments:
Post a Comment