Traveller who went to Changi Airport infected with monkeypox: MOH

Thirteen close contacts were put on phone surveillance for 21 days.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed that a traveller was diagnosed with monkeypox after it travelled from Singapore to Australia.

In a statement, MOH said the New South Wales Ministry of Health informed them that the traveller went to Singapore on 2 June and arrived in Sydney on 3 June where he tested positive.

Prior to this, the man departed from Barcelona on 1 June and reached Changi Airport on 2 June. But he only remained at the transit holding area at Changi Airport until his departure for Sydney on the same day and did not go to other areas in Changi Airport.

As he did not enter Singapore or interact with the community there, MOH said there is no significant risk of community transmission.

Nevertheless, MOH said they conducted contact tracing for two affected flights and those who interacted with the traveller at the transit area.

Since there are no close contacts, the government did not mandate quarantine. Instead, 13 persons who may have casual contact with the traveller were put on phone surveillance for three weeks.

“Persons under phone surveillance will receive daily phone calls to ascertain their health status until the end of the monitoring period,” read the statement.

“Should they report symptoms that are suggestive of monkeypox infection, they will be medically assessed and may be conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases for further evaluation,” it added.