There are currently no cases of swine flu in Singapore, but the country has stepped up a series of precautionary measures to fight against the spread of swine flu.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said that Singapore will deploy all resources necessary to manage any possible outbreak and people must be vigilant but not unduly alarmed of the swine flu.

He said that Singapore has stockpiled enough anti-viral drugs like Tamiflu and Relenza, adding that the country is prepared for a long-drawn battle against swine flu.

Earlier Wednesday, Singapore's Ministry of Health issued a travel advisory, asking people to postpone or avoid non-essential travel to Mexico. Members of the public who have travelled to affected places and who develop respiratory illness with fever within seven days after their return are required to put on a surgical mask and seek medical consultation immediately.

Also on Wednesday, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore deployed thermal scanners at the arrival halls of Singapore's international passenger terminal and regional ferry terminal.

According to official data, as of Wednesday, there have been 17 cases in total referred for medical assessment in Singapore, and 14 of them have tested negative for H1N1 viruses, three people are undergoing further tests to see if they are suffering from a common strain of influenza or an unknown strain.

Since the outbreak of the swine flu in Mexico, Singapore has taken a pro-active stance in handling the situation.

From 11:00 PM local time on Sunday, thermal scanners were deployed to screen passengers on flights arriving from the United States. From 8:00 AM local time on Monday, scanners were deployed at all three arrival halls of the Changi Airport to screen all arriving passengers.

On Tuesday, Singapore's Ministry of Health upgraded the alert level from "green" to "yellow," which is in line with the World Health Organization raising its pandemic alert phase for the swine flu outbreaks from phase three to phase four. The ministry said this is to better brace the country to handle situations where there may be isolated imported cases but no sustained local transmission.

All healthcare institutions in Singapore are intensifying their infectious disease control measures under the heightened "yellow" alert level.

The public is advised to take precautionary measures such as avoiding crowded areas and maintaining high standards of personal hygiene at all times.

Additional measures include donning full personal protective equipment especially in high risk areas such as the emergency department and intensive care unit, rescheduling elective admissions, cutting down visitors to patients, and recording of contact particulars of visitors. Hospitals have restricted inter-hospital movement of patients and staff, except in emergencies. Polyclinics and specialist outpatient clinics are also setting up triage centers to manage symptomatic patients with a travel history to affected areas, or contact with such persons.

Also on Tuesday, Singapore's Ministry of Education announced that all schools here will conduct temperature checks on their students as a precautionary measure against the swine flu threat. All schools here were required to keep school premises clean and monitor the well-being of their staff and students.

Singapore's Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Wednesday that it is possible that local clusters of swine flu cases could be heard in the future since Singapore is an open society, adding that it is important to prepare the country to minimize casualty and fatality.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2009)