Man with MERS travelled through Singapore before developing symptoms

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) has assured the public that there is no cause for alarm despite reports that a man diagnosed with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (Mers-CoV) had travelled through Singapore.

On Wednesday (July 8), a World Health Organisation (WHO) report  detailed the travel itinerary of 36-year-old man from Finland between June and July.

The places he had visited included Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Manila.

He had also traveled  to Penang before making his way back to Manila on June 25, via Singapore where he had stopped briefly.

Throughout his travels, he did not show any of the symptoms of Mers.

He was only diagnosed on July 4 after he had decided to visit a hospital in Manila after developing a fever and cough.

A MOH spokesman, in response to queries from The New Paper, said that after the man was diagnosed, he was immediately isolated at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City by the Philippine Department of Health (DOH).

In a statement, MOH said that the man developed symptoms at least five days after his brief stop in Singapore.

"As there is no evidence that a patient with Mers can transmit the disease some days before symptoms develop, the public is advised that there is no cause for alarm," the ministry spokesman said.

The spokesman also added that they will continue to monitor the situation closely and that they will put in place any measures necessary.