ISKANDAR PUTERI: Preparations are being made to ensure there is no outbreak of monkeypox in Johor, including getting in touch with Singapore health authorities, says Ling Tian Soon.

       The Johor health and unity committee chairman said this following the first case of monkeypox detected in Singapore.

       “Notices have been issued to those working on the front line, especially the Immigration Department, as they are the first in line when travellers enter Johor.

       “They have been told to flag the Health Ministry about travellers with monkeypox symptoms while those without are advised to download the MySejahtera app to monitor their health status for the next 14 days upon arrival,” he told reporters outside the state assembly sitting here yesterday.

       On June 20, Singapore’s health ministry confirmed an imported case of monkeypox, the first detected in the city-state in three years.

       The patient, a 42-year-old British man who works as a flight attendant, tested positive and had flown in and out of Singapore around mid-June.

       Ling said he told the state health department to coordinate with its counterparts across the border to keep a close eye on the situation.

       He added that the Health Ministry had also issued the necessary protocols in response.

       “Although there is a large volume of people travelling across the border daily, they are mostly Malaysians and Singaporeans. There are not many travellers coming into Johor from the countries with monkeypox cases as we do not have direct flights from those destinations.

       “So Singapore is considered the first layer of detection before travellers enter Malaysia via Johor, where we will do another round of screening,” he said.