HEALTH-SINGAPORE: Closed Schools, Empty Cabs Spell Fear

By A. D. McKenzie Reprint | | Print |

A D McKenzie

SINGAPORE, Mar 30 2003 (IPS) - Closed schools, empty taxicabs and people wearing face masks at the airport – these are just some of the signs that it is not business as usual in this South-east Asian city state known for its cleanliness, efficiency and discipline.

Some unusual steps are being taken as both the Singapore government and its people become increasingly concerned about the contagious and potentially deadly disease now known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which has killed two people here and made 89 ill as of Saturday.

Worldwide, the illness has killed at least 55 people and affected 1,550 people, some of them bringing the virus, reported also in Hong Kong, China and Vietnam, through air travel to 13 countries, including Europe and North America. On Saturday, a World Health Organisation (WHO) expert on communicable diseases, Carlo Urbani, died of the illness in Bangkok, Thailand.

On Wednesday the Singapore government ordered the closure of schools until April 6, affecting some 600,000 students in this tiny city state of 4 million people.

But many adults are also choosing to stay at home, foregoing activities such as eating out and going to clubs. Residents are also snapping up face masks in an effort to protect themselves from the germs in others’ sneezes and coughs.

Over the weekend, a sign at a pharmacy in the normally bustling Parco Bugis Junction shopping centre said it all: "Face masks out of stock". Outside the same centre, a line of taxis stretched halfway round the block, waiting for patrons.

"Few people are going out," said taxi driver Lim Teck Hua. "They are afraid of the virus." He adds that drivers had seen their earnings fall over the weekend as there are so few clients.

But then again, he says, he and other drivers are themselves nervous. "If a passenger starts coughing, we quickly open the windows," he pointed out.

But the abundance of taxis may also be due to another factor. The Health Ministry has announced that it is seeking a taxi driver who transported an infected person to a hospital on Wednesday. The driver was finally found Sunday and is now in quarantine.

The worry about contracting the pneumonia-like illness, believed to be caused by viruses belong to the coronavirus group but which has not yet been controlled, manifests itself in other ways as well.

At a Kinokuniya bookstore downtown, a woman was seen to scurry away when a customer standing nearby blew his nose. A local newspaper, ‘Today’, summed up the mood with the headline "Terror in a speck of spittle".

According to the paper, SARS has become the "best known acronym in Singapore these days.

Singapore’s Archbishop Nicholas Chia has instructed Catholic churches to avoid giving communion into people’s mouths, but having them receive it on their palms instead. The Anglican Church is also staying away from the usual practice of having churchgoers drink wine from the same cup.

The initial SARS cases here involved three women who had traveled to Hong Kong – the most seriously hit by the virus with 470 cases of infections and at least 11 dead – and subsequently passed on the virus to family members and friends.

But the most recent case concerns a designer who returned to Singapore on Mar. 26 after visiting Hong Kong and Beijing – China is believed to be source of the virus, and has reported 34 deaths and more than 800 infections.

Officials estimate that some 60 people may have come into contact with her before she was admitted to hospital here. Several have been located and quarantined but others have not yet been found.

While some locals have been debating whether the government can do more to combat the disease, Singaporean authorities have generally been praised by international observers for their measures.

Local teachers, too, welcomed the decision to close schools, and a few private institutions had even cancelled classes before they were instructed to do so.

Kid’s Colourbox, a Montessori school for children aged 2 to 6 years, said it was closing in the interests of the children and would see how the situation developed before reopening. In any case, some parents had voluntarily been keeping their children at home.

In addition to the closures, about 1,500 individuals who have been exposed to the virus have been quarantined. They have been ordered to stay at home under the Infectious Diseases Act and are not allowed out even to buy food. Official agencies are providing that service. Anyone who disobeys the order faces a heavy fine.

At the city state’s Changi airport, some airlines have been following guidelines from the WHO to ask travelers whether they might have been exposed to the virus, or whether they had any telltale symptoms. Other airlines, however, seemed unaware of the advisory.

Many travelers, however, have themselves taken the step of wearing masks at the airport and on board airplanes not just when coming or leaving Singapore. Those traveling in East Asia are also wearing masks in a desire to be extra careful.

In addition, a task force has been set up to examine border controls, with the aim of preventing further cases of the disease from entering Singapore.

Official measures, though, are not quelling all fears while experts struggle to find a cure for the illness.

Several entertainers, such as Moby, have cancelled their scheduled concerts here and in other countries in the region. Although the Rolling Stones did perform two gigs here last week, they have cancelled shows in Shanghai and Beijing, set for Apr. 1 and 4.

In addition, at least four countries – the United States, Australia, Finland and Ireland – have issued a new travel advisory, warning their nationals to postpone trips to areas affected by SARS.