Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you’ll know that another virus is terrifying the world: The Wuhan Virus.
A Brief Flashback:
In Dec 2019, a mysterious and unexplained virus broke out in China. It was linked to people selling seafood and live animals in Huanan Market, a market in Wuhan.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stepped in to investigate and said that it could be linked to the family of viruses that caused the Sars and Mers outbreaks
On 4 Jan 2020, a 3-year-old girl who returned to Singapore from Wuhan became the first suspected case of the virus in Singapore.
Thankfully, it was confirmed to be a false alarm one day later.
On 10 January, a 26-year-old man was admitted for treatment and quarantined, but it turns out that his pneumonia was also not linked to the Wuhan virus.
MOH Issues Warning About ‘Wuhan Virus’
On 17 Jan 2020, the Ministry of Health issued a warning regarding the mystery virus.
They said that Singapore will likely see more suspected Wuhan virus cases in Singapore.
Two more people with pneumonia who travelled to Wuhan, China, were warded and quarantined.
The two individuals, a 61-year-old female Singapore resident and a 64-year-old man from China are in stable condition.
They are currently investigating if the two individuals’ pneumonia has links to the Wuhan virus.
A New Coronavirus
The Wuhan virus is said to be a new form of coronavirus, named as 2019-nCoV.
Coronaviruses are able to cause illnesses in people and be transmitted by animals.
In rare cases, these viruses can also evolve and be transmitted between people. A few examples would be the SARS and Mers viruses.
So far, there has been two confirmed cases in Thailand and one in Japan. Two patients suffering from the virus has died.
Both have underlying medical conditions.
Singapore On High Alert
Singapore is on high alert to detect any of such cases in Singapore as there might be human-to-human transmission of the virus.
It was found that while some have links to the Huanan Market, not all of the patients had reported going to the market.
Which means they might’ve gotten it from someone who went to the market.
So make sure you take care of yourself while you travel, yeah?
The authorities have implemented temperature screening travellers coming back from China.
Some Guidelines To Follow When Traveling:
MOH has set out the following guidelines to keep yourself safe while you’re out there seeing the world:
- Monitor your health
- Seek professional help immediately (don’t wait till you come back to Singapore, yeah?)
- Don’t touch live animals
- Don’t eat raw food
- Remember to wash your hands with soap
- And wear a mask if you’re having the flu
