(From left) Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong with senior consultant Brenda Ang, and nurses Felicia Tang and Sujithra Nair at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which is Singapore's designated isolation centre for suspected and confirmed Mers patients. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG -
PM Lee: Matter of Time before Singapore sees first Mers Case
PM: 'Matter of time' before Singapore sees first Mers case
By Linette Lai
SINGAPORE - It is "just a matter of time" before the first case of Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) is detected in Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday.
Mr Lee and his wife Ho Ching were visiting Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) - Singapore's designated isolation centre for suspected and confirmed Mers patients - to observe emergency preparedness measures there.
Speaking to reporters inside the hospital's Communicable Disease Centre, Mr Lee stressed that Singaporeans must be especially vigilant now that the virus, which originated in the Middle East, has spread to South Korea.
"Every month we have about 40,000 visitors and during a holiday month like June, a lot of families go to Korea on holiday," he said.