Singapore: University hostels designated as nCoV quarantine facilities

By January 28 morning, Singapore had confirmed five cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection while test results for the remaining 57 suspected cases are still pending.

(Illustrative photo: SGGP)
(Illustrative photo: SGGP)
The country’s Ministry of Heath said the latest case is a 56-year-old female Chinese national from Wuhan who arrived in Singapore on January 18.
Singapore has been stepping up precautionary measures progressively to prevent the novel virus from taking hold in the country.
According to the Ministry of Education, all students and school staff who returned from China in the past 14 days will have to take a compulsory 14-day leave, particularly those working in pre-schools, health care and the elder care sector.
The ministry has requested students to move out from hostels in the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) as they can be designed as government quarantine facilities which are capable of accommodating up to 1,000 patients.
Students and parents have been also asked to report on their travel history during the Lunar New Year holiday while those returning Singapore from China will have to take a mandated 14-day leave. The move is expected to affect an estimated 800 students in Singapore.
Singapore on January 23 confirmed the first case of the coronavirus, which was first discovered in the central city of Wuhan, China last December.

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