The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has updated its advice to the Muslim community in Singapore as new developments have occurred as a result of Singaporeans who attended a large religious gathering in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia.
As of 13 March, 2020 the organisation noted that five people have tested positive for COVID-19, and cited media reports that at least 37 Bruneians and 77 Malaysians who also attended the gathering, or were close contacts of delegates, have also tested positive.
"It is possible for more cases to emerge from persons who had visited the mosque, or further spread to their close contacts. Muis is actively assisting the Ministry of Health (MOH) in their efforts to conduct contact tracing, to limit the spread of the virus. Thus far MOH’s contract tracing efforts have revealed that the individuals who tested positive visited a total of 10 mosques during their infectious period," the organisation said in an online statement.
As visitors to any of the 10 mosques in the time between the end of the religious gathering (March 1) and the closure of the mosques (March 12 for some, March 13 for the rest) might have been exposed to a COVID-19 case, Muis asks them to monitor their health closely for two weeks from their last visit to the affected mosques. If they have fever or respiratory symptoms (cough, sore throat, runny nose or breathlessness) or feel otherwise unwell they should seek medical attention promptly. They should wear a mask and call the clinic ahead of their visit, telling the clinic that they were at activities that have been linked to a COVID-19 case.
"This is a very timely reminder for each of us to take the necessary precautions to keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy in these times. This must surely include best practices in personal hygiene as well as socially responsible behaviour," Muis said.
Precautions include:
- See a doctor when unwell, even with mild flu-like symptoms, and stay at home to prevent spreading illness to others.
- Keep to the same family physician for better continuity of care.
- Practise self-isolation at home when unwell and as advised by a doctor.
- Avoid large community gatherings as well as large religious gatherings overseas during this period and defer all non-essential travel to mainland China, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Spain.
- Frequent hand washing with soap and water as well as avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Look out for one another, monitor the health of your family and friends, and keep reminding one another to be socially responsible and to maintain strict personal hygiene.
Details of the mosques, including specific dates and times, can be downloaded here (PDF).