Influenza A(H1N1) in Singapore – how did you find out?

The Strait Times reports that Singapore’s first confirmed case of H1N1 was brought in by a Singaporean on 26 May 2009: 6.30am who was aboard an SQ25 flight from New York .

“The ministry [of Health; see article below] asked passengers who had been seated in rows 52 to 58 on the same flight to call its hotline on 1800-333 9999, so that its officers can check on their health condition.”

I found out after returning to the office at 2.30pm. TweetDeck was chattering away when I turned on the monitor, despite following a limited number of active twitterers. I told the only office mate who was around and he was surprised and interested but not shocked, since this has long been regarded as inevitable.

When I scrolled down my Twitter feed later, I saw that the news had been reported before 10.50am by three friends. The first, Lucian, cited the complete Channel News Asia URL which is the good thing to do in such cases, rather than using a shortened URL service.

The twitterer in charge of @FluSingapore probably chose the wrong time to go to the bathroom, for by 11.11am, @tinkertailor was urging a response. Well, they kicked in just a minute later (real time is demanding, isn’t it?), citing the relevant Straits Times breaking news article.

At 11:17am, @FluSingapore twittered the request for fellow-passengers on the SQ25 flight to call MOH. Retweeting (on my list) began by 11.21am (BenKoe) and was quite well taken up by others. The people I follow avoid crying wolf, so a credible source, in this case the @FluSingapore tweet, was important for them to confidently pass on the news.

At some point, the Channel NewsAsia site went down and verification with them was not possible (still down at 4.00pm). So I cited Straits Times for the “obligatory” public service announcement, which was useful for friends who just came online. Others would also pick it up via the twitter to facebook status update.

At 11.43am, @FluSingapore said, “Thank you everyone for the RTs! Apologies for being slightly late in breaking the news.” Nice response, I thought.

There was a minor flurry on my twitter list about the news after 1pm, probably when some people I follow came back from lunch and were relaxing by reading tweets (instead of rss these days, I suppose). That burst of tweets pretty much died out by 3pm.

Here at the office I have a search turned on to “Singapore” on TweetDeck and the news was still intermittent at 4.15pm. By now, some were citing Reuters.

Interesting question – how many of us checked or referred to the MOH site? Ultimate source of news and a useful site to check with before forwarding messages on.

So twitterers can play a complimentary role in information dissemination during a health crisis. Authorities just need to seed this pool with a short tweet for convenient retweeting – people stuck behind a terminal are practically a communications task force. News like this fades quickly so late-comers play an important role by keeping the news alive. Channel News Asia’s IT department needs to be better prepared – their site finally recovered at about 4.30pm!

H1N1 FLU OUTBREAK -
“S’pore reports 1st flu case,” by Lee Hui Chieh. The Straits Times, 27 May 2009.

“SINGAPORE has reported its first patient infected with the new A(H1N1) flu strain.
The patient, a 22-year-old Singaporean woman, had been in New York from May 14 to 24, and arrived here on Tuesday morning.

While seated in row 55 on Singapore Airlines flight SQ25, she began to develop a cough, but she passed the thermal scanner at the airport later without being stopped, because she did not have a fever at the time.

Later that morning, she went to a general practitioner who decided to send her to Tan Tock Seng Hospital via the special ambulance service 993 meant for suspected Influenza A (H1N1) cases.

Laboratory test confirmed her infection at midnight on Tuesday.

The patient is being treated at the TTH Communicable Disease Centre and is in stable condition.

The Health Ministry said the patient has been vigilant in monitoring her condition and had sought immediate medical attention once she realised she was unwell.

“Her attending GP, through his quick response in activating the 993 ambulance for the patient, had also helped to minimise the spread of infection from this case,” said a ministry statement.

The Health Ministry has begun contact tracing of those who have been in close contact with the patient.

They will be quarantined and given antivirals to prevent them from developing the disease.

The ministry asked passengers who had been seated in rows 52 to 58 on the same flight to call its hotline on 1800-333 9999, so that its officers can check on their health condition.

The Ministry has reminded all medical practitioners and healthcare institutions to continue to be vigilant to suspect cases.

Temperature screening for passengers entering Singapore at all checkpoints – land, sea and air – will continue.

All passengers passing through or entering Singapore are given Health Alert Notices on board their flights, advising them to monitor their own health if they have been to affected areas and to seek medical attention immediately if they are not well.”

M1’s 100mbps fixed broadband

My Singnet plan ran out a couple of months ago and when I finally noticed, I realised I was paying almost double what I need be paying, now that the contract was over – Singnet didn’t bother with a resubscription reminder or offer.

I had begin to experience one too many wireless gateway dropped messages while surfing, complete with Singnet logo so I wanted something that could work. I had suspected that the 2WIRE 2700HG-D modem was at fault but instead wandered into an M1 shop last week, having heard of their foray into the broadband market last August. I recklessly walked out with a SB6100 SURFboard Downstream Channel Bonding Modem and a purported 100Mbps fixed broadband line and a six-month subscription scheme at $94.40/mth.

A two-year subscription would cost $76.70/mth for existing M1 subscribers – that would actually be cheaper than my post-contract payments on the 10mbps Singnet line! But I decided I’d try the shorter, more expensive trail and revisit the market at year-end.

My internet use is rather intensive while preparing for lectures and with six modules ahead of me next academic year, I’m planning to get ahead of the pack for once with lecture preparation. And each time I get an error when trying to load a page, I lose time and momentum.

Ethernet cable connection to iBook 1GHz 14.1″, 22 May 2009: 2313h

Ethernet cable connection to MacBook Pro 1.83GHz , 22 May 2009: 2335h

So I fell for the lure of the M1 100mbps line and loaned the cable modem. The additional charge is a $30-$50+ signal activation fee. You are only provided with a modem, so I dusted out my old Airport Express. A login at an M1 page is required and once you change the password they issued you, your browser will remember and login you in reasonably smoothly. My wired use (as you could see above) was certainly very snappy.

I have a few more things to figure out with regards to the Airport Express use and I’ll have a better feel when I actually start surfing for research from June. The numbers actually don’t tell as much as they could as there are many parameters that come into play. And erm, my NUS exchange account on Entourage doesn’t work!

Results from speedtest.net:

22 May 2009 – M1 Fixed Broadband 100Mbps over Airport Express 802.11b/g, 22.12 SST.

My friends and I have always used speedtest whenever we switched plans and we used to post results on the mean list. I found some August 2006 figures for Starhub 6.5mbps. I eventually abandoned that plan later that year because my neighbourhood choked up the line.

19 Aug 2006 – Starhub Maxonline 6.5Mbps, 10.25 SST.

I think I have some other results stacked away somewhere. Will add those if I can find them, later.

Biodiversity consultation @ Envirofest

I wish all the young students who query me throughout the year by email would simply turn up for Envirofest at HDB Hub @ Toa Payoh this weekend – Sat 23 and Sun 24 May 2009: 11am – 8pm. This is the largest aggregation of biodiversity volunteers in Singapore by far. All their answers, guiding opportunities, project mentors, specimens and free walks to sign up for will be in one place and amidst a friendly and enjoyable atmosphere.

Since volunteer guides are critical, I ensured I recruited enough Raffles Museum Toddycats to turn up in 3-hour shifts over the two days there. They responded well with more than 30 signed up. I think we might just be able to help some of the others as well.

At 3.00pm, the Blue Plan will be handed over to Minister Yaacob and this was all setup after a suggestion about a week earlier. So there have phon calls and emails etc but Farid kept a tight watch on it and its happening!

Saturday doesn’t end until later that night as I will have to hop over to Harbour Front for the MIA Night Trail (which is part of IMD) at 6pm.

I am just glad the environment blogging workshop in the morning got postponed!

Have you seen Lyssa zampa recently?

PLease let me know if you see this moth around. It’s been spotted in one or two places only recently. This one I saw in RJC when I went down for a talk. The last time we saw loads was in 2005.

Ride of Silence Singapore, 20 May 2009

My friends went down after work to Merlion Park today for the Ride of Silence Singapore. They reported a large turnout and cyclists were released in groups of about 10. We dropped in on the cyclists just as they left Merlion Park to thread through the city before heading out west to loop around Holland Village. 

The route required them to make a few lane shifts and navigate through small, busy roads (see route). By Holland Road, the groups found the space and momentum to be tighter. The video clips below show two groups riding up the Holland Road slope before they head down through Orchard Road. Note how the first group is more disciplined about keeping to a single file. It was nice to see the groups crunch up the slope in silence with a few nods of heads to us as they cycled past.

From the short time we spent following the groups along the first half of the route, a few things were obvious:

• White is striking at night! An all white t-shirt or jersey as ordered ("dress in white") would have really made the group stand out. The mixed coloured jerseys that some persisted in wearing are not noticeable and quite unsuitable or night cycling.
• Rear helmet lights were prominent and in fact, critical for congested roads where cyclists ride in close proximity to motorists. However, few cyclists had rear helmet lights. The rear seat lights are less useful in these situations as they are more noticeable from afar.
• Many were using pretty decent front white blinking lights. Surprisingly some were actually riding without front lights.
• The few passerby-cyclists without lights were practically invisible to traffic!
• Quite a number of cyclists were clueless about navigating lane changes safely – their timing and hand signals left much to be desired. Wish they sign up for some practical training somewhere, the sort motorcyclists get in preparation for their Class 2B license.
• The ride was supposed to be a slow-paced ride. But I think I'd be hard-pressed to keep up with some groups who were whizzed past!

I’m sure there will be more on my cycling lists later tonight and tomorrow. Hope it will help the organisers next year. Meanwhile, see news from Rides of Silence around the world and tweets from cyclists gearing up or after their ride..

Some of my photos from the ride are on Flickr.

“Cyclists join thousands worldwide in Ride of Silence,” by Tan Yew Guan. Channel NewsAsia, 20 May 2009.

SINGAPORE: About 200 cyclists gathered at the Merlion Park on Wednesday evening to embark on a one-hour ride through Singapore’s roads. They joined thousands of others in a world wide movement.

Called the Ride of Silence, riders went at a slow pace throughout the 19 kilometre route.

At the same time, they maintained silence amid the roar of traffic in honour of those killed or injured in traffic accidents while cycling.

Last year, at least 20 people died in such accidents.

The first Ride of Silence rolled off in Dallas in the United States six years ago.

Then, it was just a gathering of one thousand cyclists to mark the death of a fellow cyclist who was killed by a school bus mirror.

Throughout world, from Hong Kong to Spain and all across the United States, cyclists in over 200 locations are taking part in similar rides.

Organisers hope that the event will make drivers more aware of the presence of cyclists on the roads. – CNA/vm

International Museum Day 2009

Ride of Silence (Singapore) – 20 May 2009

The Ride of Silence
Tonight we number many but ride as one
In honor of those not with us, friends, mothers, fathers, sisters, sons
With helmets on tight and heads down low,
We ride in silence, cautious and slow
The wheels start spinning in the lead pack
But tonight we ride and no one attacks
The dark sunglasses cover our tears
Remembering those we held so dear
Tonight’s ride is to make others aware
The road is there for all to share
To those not with us or by our side,
May God be your partner on your final ride
- Mugai

http://tinyurl.com/ross2009

Link to Facebook page (indicate attendance; thanks agfu!)

“A cyclist with a cause,” by Agatha Koh Brazil [agatha@mediacorp.com.sg].
Today, 12 May 2009

A CYCLIST WITH A CAUSE
———————-

SOON after he arrived in Singapore in 2007, Benoit Valin got a bicycle to ride to his office at Buona Vista. Just as quickly too, on a rainy October day, he was rendered a bloody mess along Portsdown Road by a motorist who turned without looking.

Then the motorist in the car behind honked at him to get out of the way. “She well saw that I had blood on my head and other parts of my body, but she waved her fist to threaten me,” says the 31-year-old Canadian.

That wasn’t the only incident for the dedicated “bike commuter”. “Commuting is the only time I can ride my bike. Unfortunately, it is also the most dangerous time of the day (to do so).” Other close calls include one in January when a driver shot across three lanes of Commonwealth Avenue and Benoit had to swerve to avoid him. In doing so, he had to “touch” the car to avoid being hit by a bus. That enraged the motorist who “chased down” the road for about a kilometre. “Then he came out of the car, fists in the air,” recalls the Ottawa native.

In February, along Bukit Timah Road, a driver shot across two lanes and narrowly avoided clipping him. “At the light, I knocked on his window to talk. He did the ‘I’ve done nothing wrong, you’re on the road and you have no place here’ speech,” says Benoit. “That about sums it up. This happens about every week, but I don’t make a fuss about them … only when they really have to be educated.”

May 20 is when he hopes this will happen. That is when Ride of Silence Singapore – he is the organiser – will kick off at 7pm from Merlion Park at Clifford Pier. Attending riders will dress in white and ride – in silence – to honour those killed or injured while cycling on public roads. Last year, there were about 22 such deaths here, and this year, the figure already stands at six, says Benoit. It is expected to increase with the escalating popularity of cycling.

The riders here will join others worldwide in a silent slow ride on May 20 to raise the awareness of motorists and other road users as well as that of the authorities. The first ride originated in the United States city of Dallas, after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was killed when hit by the mirror of a passing bus. Officials from the Safe Cycling Task Force will also join in. The route (yet to be approved) will cover 19km or so.

Cycling for Benoit has been a 14-year “love story”. At 17 and at college, he needed money, so he started cycling extensively as a messenger in Ottawa. At university in Boston, he volunteered for Bikes Not Bombs, a not-for-profit organisation that recycles old bikes for third-world countries. Graduate school between 2001 and 2006 meant never staying long enough in a place to sustain a devotion to a cause. Until Singapore, where he saw “how road, and cycling safety could improve the quality of life for everyone”.

That encounter in February made the bachelor decide to dedicate his spare time to cycling safety. He then had a cause, but no means to reach out. “Changing the world by yourself, when all you see is the same five people every day is very difficult,” says the bioinformatics scientist for a pharmaceutical company. In April, he received an email from Canada’s National Capital Commission, advertising the Ride of Silence. “It was an epiphany. I found the means to unite people in support for a cause that affects everyone,” he says.

There have been 100 responses from his Facebook group so far. Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Vivian Balakrishnan is scheduled to be present, as is Senior Parliamentary Secretary for MCYS and Ministry of Transport, Mr Teo Ser Luck.

Benoit clocks about 1,000km a month riding from his Bukit Batok home to Buona Vista. When the 200km of park connectors are completed by 2015, “Singapore will become a world-class haven for cyclists.” “Unfortunately, park connectors don’t go everywhere. They cover only 60 per cent of my commute. The challenge is coping with traffic and the dangers of traffic.” That means drivers of every ilk, as well as pedestrians, especially “those who zig-zag between cars at lights and pop up without warning”. Cyclists who ride at night without lights and reflectors, wearing dark clothes, and those who ride against traffic and through lights are at fault, too.

Benoit is keen that helmets be worn, and made mandatory for riders under 12. “Deaths can never be reduced to zero. Drivers need to learn how to communicate their intentions clearly to cyclists (and vice versa). The rules of the road need to be clearer so they can be respected. Only then can roads be safer.” Cycling safety should be incorporated into driving classes and tested during the theory test. Physical education teachers too, should teach cycling safety, he says.

“On a bicycle, safety means staying alive.”

Singapore’s first such ride was in 2006, started by Jimi Loh. But the rides were never registered with the US and not publicised. Benoit and Mr Loh will work together next year. For details visit www.rideofsilence.org

Email your views to voices@mediacorp.com.sg

Selatium brockii @ Lim Chu Kang mangrove

I brought Ben Godsall, on a 3-month stint from Imperial with the Systematics & Ecology Lab, out for a recce at Lim Chu Kang mangrove (LCK). Mandai used to have greater numbers but LCK is safe for a recce during an immersed high tide spring walk. Brought me back to 1990 when I'd take the bus down to do my night work and race out to catch the last bus out.

Mudskippers were up and about (both the larger species), a pair of horseshoe crabs were mating, a cuttlefish swam by and of course the tree-climbing crabs. We focused on the Selatium brockii prime estate and they didn't disappoint. Ben got acquainted with the site, population size there, seeing the crabs in their natural setting, handling the crabs gently so no legs are lost and conducting measurements in the field. He got a mouthful of LCK water too, on our way out. He's much taller so you can imagine I was under water too.

Lots of trash about so the July bi-annual cleanup will be a welcome effort once again.

See and download the full gallery on posterous