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Tag: MERS

  • MERS Outbreak: SIA To Waive Cancellation Fees For Flights To Seoul

    MERS Outbreak: SIA To Waive Cancellation Fees For Flights To Seoul

    In light of the MERS outbreak in South Korea, flagship carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) will waive cancellation fees and administration fees for refund, rebooking or re-routing for customers holding confirmed tickets to and from Seoul’s Incheon Airport, it announced on its website on Wednesday (Jun 10).

    In a sales circular, Singapore Airlines said the waiver is valid for all commercial Singapore Airlines fare tickets issued on or before Jun 9, for travel on flights to and from Seoul up until Jun 28 (inclusive).

    Low-cost carrier Scoot, which is owned by SIA, will also allow customers travelling on specific dates to rebook their travel dates free of charge. “Guests with bookings made on or before June 3 for travel to Incheon up to June 15 (inclusive) have the option to rebook either to another Scoot destination or another travel date. The change fee will be waived but the fare difference will apply,” a spokesperson said.

    In a notice on its website on Tuesday, Cathay Pacific, which runs daily flights from Singapore to Seoul, said it would not waive cancellation fees for flights to South Korea, or offer refunds.

    However, it would waive rebooking and re-routing charges for all passengers travelling to and from Seoul, Busan and Jeju, with tickets issued on or before Jun 8, regardless of fare type. This applies to confirmed bookings with Cathay Pacific and Dragonair, for travel between Jun 9 and Aug 31, Cathay Pacific stated.

    Rebooking and re-routing charges will be waived if requests are made on or before Jun 19, the airline said. Revised travel dates must be on or before Oct 31, and subject to flight availability, Cathay Pacific added.

    Korean Air has stated on a MERS advisory on its website that a refund or date change penalty may be charged in accordance to a passenger’s ticket.

    South Korea on Wednesday reported two more deaths due to MERS, and 13 more cases.

    Singapore’s Government has not issued an advisory against travel to South Korea, but on Tuesday announced temperature screening measures for passengers arriving from South Korea at its airports.

    SINGAPOREANS CALL OFF TRIPS

    Ms Rachel Fong was among the few who decided to cancel their trips following news of the MERS outbreak in South Korea. The 22-year-old undergraduate had been planning to head to Seoul to catch a music festival and celebrate her birthday with her friends.

    “We actually decided to change our plans quite late because we were kind of hoping that the MERS situation wouldn’t be this severe,” she said. “But when it got to this, such a stage, we decided, my parents decided that it’s too risky for me to go.

    “Even though there was no travel advisory issued, MOE (Ministry of Education) did decide that schools had to cancel and postpone their trips to Korea. So that indicates how severe the situation is and my parents were not going to take that risk,” she added.

    Mr Huang Ban Chin also called off his work trip to South Korea.

    The Chief Operating Officer of a wellness company in Singapore, which specialises in direct selling of skincare and wellness products, was supposed to go on a site visit, as the firm has an office comprising seven South Korean staff in Seoul.

    Mr Huang said he is also adopting a wait-and-see attitude for another upcoming trip to Shanghai, China, which reported its first case of MERS two weeks ago.

    “I think the real concern at this point of time is not so much about whether we will be inflicted with the disease or not, but it’s really about the inconvenience if things escalate and coming back would be a hassle,” he said. “We would be subjected to quarantine.”

    Travel agency Dynasty Travel said less than a hundred of its customers have cancelled or changed their trips to South Korea. However, it noted that June is not the peak season for travel to the country, as holidaymakers prefer to visit during the year-end winter season.

    “We have about 20 per cent who have opted to cancel, or deviate to other destinations such as Taiwan, Japan and Australia,” said the director of marketing communications Ms Alicia Seah.

    “Travel agents are middle men, we act on behalf of airlines, hotels, transportation overseas, so cancellation fees are not within our control and at this juncture in time, with no travel advisories nor travel bans against visiting Korea, we will have to impose cancellation fees accordingly.”

    TRAVEL AGENCIES TAKE PRECAUTIONS

    For those who are still travelling to South Korea, travel agencies like Chan Brothers Travel said precautions are in place. The agency has about one tour group a day flying to South Korea this month.

    “We acted immediately,” said the senior manager of customer service Reshel Chan. “We went to buy masks to pass to our tour leaders, and also wet wipes. During the courtesy call, when we have to call our customers – a reminder call before departure – we will also tell the customers that they can bring along sanitiser and during the trip, before every single meal, we remind our customers to wash their hands.”

    “We have been constantly contacting our tour leaders and also our tour guides to ensure everything is in order. We message them to have hourly updates on what’s going on, how the situation is,” added Ms Chan.

    Two local tour operators who handle groups from South Korea told Channel NewsAsia that some organisations – including corporate groups and schools – have cancelled their travel plans to Singapore.

    One said about a hundred people, or about 20 per cent of its customers, have cancelled their trips. They, however, also noted that this is not the peak season for travel in Korea as the summer holidays begin in July.

    MOE had recently said all school trips to South Korea have been postponed or cancelled. Students who went on trips to South Korea have also all returned.

    MOE added that all schools are currently equipped to manage an acute outbreak and will be further supplemented should the situation require it. Standard procedures and measures include temperature taking and contact tracing, as well as closure of schools and home-based learning.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • South Koreans In Singapore Exercise Caution In Travel Plans

    South Koreans In Singapore Exercise Caution In Travel Plans

    Having kept a close watch on news about the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) back home, South Koreans living in Singapore said they were concerned for their friends and family, but also expect the situation to improve as the government in Seoul appears to have stepped up containment efforts in recent days.

    Nonetheless, some told TODAY they would exercise caution in their travel plans.

    “I think it’s under control. I was reading the Korean newspaper yesterday about the President saying the government is taking action to control (the spread) within this week,” said Mr Will Jeong, director of Korean barbecue restaurant, Oh Neul Han Jeom.

    The 45-year-old added that he had been planning on flying back to South Korea to visit his younger brother and friends, but had since postponed his trip until the next school holidays in September, or even later.

    He said he was concerned for his family back home. “It’s bad for business too, as everyone stays at home. There are no gatherings outside now,” he added.

    Mr Aum Kyoung Hwan, 45, said he has not cancelled plans to return to Seoul in two weeks with his wife and two teenage children. He added that they would wear masks and take the necessary precautionary measures while in the country, but pointed out that it appeared that “only the old or the very old, and the weak and not-so-healthy people have been affected”.

    Meanwhile, Ms Kim Ji Yeon, owner of Chowon Garden Korean Restaurant, will not risk going back to her hometown just yet. With two children aged 10 months and three years, she said she was “scared because they are very young”.

    “(MERS used to affect) older people. Now, pregnant women are also getting infected. I think it is wise to avoid crowded places and hospitals in cities (in South Korea),” the 35-year-old said.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Singapore Beefs Up Measures Against MERS

    Singapore Beefs Up Measures Against MERS

    Singapore will begin temperature screening at air checkpoints for passengers arriving from South Korea from Tuesday (Jun 9), 7.00pm, as an additional precautionary measure against the MERS virus.

    Travellers flying to Singapore from South Korea will also receive health advisories starting from Tuesday, announced the Republic’s Ministry of Health (MOH) in a news release.

    Currently, there is temperature screening at air checkpoints for passengers arriving from the Middle East, and travellers arriving from or heading to the Middle East receive health advisories. All hospitals in Singapore stand ready to screen and isolate suspect cases, the ministry added.

    Passengers with fever detected at the temperature screening stations will be referred to a designated area for further clinical assessment. A medical practitioner will recheck the traveller’s temperature and ask about his or her travel history, or any history of contact with a MERS patient, and check for symptoms of lung infection or severe respiratory infection with breathlessness.

    If the traveller fulfils the criteria for a suspected case of MERS, he or she will be referred to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for further evaluation and tests. Children under the age of 16 will be referred to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

    If the passenger does not fulfil the criteria, he or she will receive a surgical mask and a health advisory, and will be placed on phone surveillance until the symptoms resolve. If the traveller’s condition worsens, he or she will be advised to seek medical attention promptly.

    The ministry advised Singaporeans to monitor their health closely for two weeks upon returning from a MERS-affected area.

    It added that Singaporeans returning from MERS-affected areas need not undergo self-quarantine if they have no symptoms of illness, but they should wear a surgical mask and seek medical help if they come down with fever and cough. They may be isolated for observation and further investigations for up to 48 hours.

    South Korea on Tuesday reported its seventh death from the virus and 23 new cases in the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia.

    Singapore’s Ministry of Education earlier announced that all school trips to South Korea have been postponed or cancelled due to the growing number of reported cases in the country.

    “To date, there is no case of MERS-CoV in Singapore, but the possibility of an imported case here cannot be ruled out given today’s globalised travel patterns,” MOH said. It stressed that even if there is an imported case, the risk of an outbreak remains low as sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus has not been reported.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • South Korea Reports Fourth Death From MERS

    South Korea Reports Fourth Death From MERS

    South Korea Friday reported its fourth death from an outbreak of the MERS virus that has infected dozens of people, seen hundreds of schools closed and caused thousands to cancel travel plans.

    The health ministry had also confirmed five new cases, Yonhap news agency reported, bringing the total number of people diagnosed with the potentially deadly virus in South Korea to 41, the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia.

    The latest fatality was a 76-year-old patient who died Thursday after testing positive for the virus on May 21, Yonhap said.

    That case comes shortly after the country’s third MERS death was confirmed Thursday, that of an 82-year-old man who was diagnosed after he died in hospital on Wednesday night.

    He was originally being treated for asthma and pneumonia but was placed under quarantine after other patients in his ward tested positive for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

    More than 900 schools, from kindergartens to colleges, have now shut their gates and the government’s MERS hotline took more than 3,000 calls on Wednesday as public fears have grown.

    Before Thursday only two people — a 58-year-old woman and a 71-year-old man — had died in South Korea from the disease, which has no cure or vaccine.

    The first case, reported on May 20, was of a 68-year-old man diagnosed after a trip to Saudi Arabia.

    Since then, more than 1,660 people who may have been exposed to the virus have been placed under varying levels of quarantine.

    While around 160 were isolated at state-designated facilities, most were told to stay home and strictly limit their interactions with other people.

    MERS has now infected more than 1,100 people globally, with 437 deaths. More than 20 countries have been affected, with most cases in Saudi Arabia.

    The virus is considered a deadlier but less infectious cousin of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed hundreds of people when it appeared in Asia in 2003.

    The World Health Organization said it expected more infections in South Korea, but stressed that there was “no evidence of sustained transmission in the community”.

     

    Source: www.scmp.com

  • Measures Are In Place To Prevent MERS Outbreak In Singapore

    Measures Are In Place To Prevent MERS Outbreak In Singapore

    Local hospitals have been reminded to remain vigilant and to stand ready to screen and isolate individuals suspected to suffer from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Coronavirus, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (Jun 3).

    South Korea has confirmed five more cases of MERS, the Korean health ministry said early on Wednesday, bringing to 30 the total number of cases in the country of the often-deadly illness. All cases of infection in South Korea have been limited to household and hospital contacts among the patients, and all have been linked to the first identified case. Given this, the Health Ministry said there is no evidence of sustained community transmission in South Korea.

    MOH revealed in a press release that three categories of patients with clinical signs or symptoms of pneumonia or severe respiratory infection with breathlessness, who travelled to the Middle East in the two weeks before onset, will be referred to any of its public and private hospitals for further evaluation to exclude the infection.

    Patients from South Korea, and also those with fever and respiratory illness of any severity who had visited a healthcare facility while in the Middle East or South Korea will also be similarly referred, according to MOH.

    Clinics said they will step up their precautionary measures on the Health Ministry’s advice.

    “So when the situation gets worse, the Ministry of Health will tell us that we need to be vigilant and more alert about it,” said Dr Philip Koh, family physician at Healthway Tampines Clinic. “Then we will have to don our personal protective equipment, which is our masks, our gloves, and our goggles and basically the clinic will be turned into a pandemic centre of preparedness.”

    “What happens is when a patient comes in, who is suspected of having fever, cough and breathlessness, will be attended to by a nurse donned with this personal protective equipment at the entrance,” added Dr Koh.

    The Ministry said that temperature screening at air checkpoints for passengers arriving from the Middle East have been in place since May 18 last year. It said that health advisories continue to be in place at the local border checkpoints for travelers coming from and going to areas affected by MERS, and that screening may be ramped up to include passengers arriving from South Korea should evidence of sustained community spread turn up.

    SIA HAS PLANS TO MINIMISE DISEASE SPREAD

    Also on Wednesday, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) spokesperson assured that the national carrier has measures – “both on the ground and on board” – in place to “minimise the spread of diseases”. These include passenger screening by airport ground personnel.

    “If any passenger appears to be unwell, he or she will be asked to see a doctor immediately. We will not carry any passenger whom we believe is a risk to others on board,” the spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia.

    SIA added that it has developed standard operating procedures to handle various medical emergencies, including infectious diseases.

    The airline said these measures “will be coupled with the health regulations implemented by local authorities”, citing cabin crew basic first-aid training as one of such measures.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com