COVID-19: Some Indonesian medical tourists put off travel to Singapore
Jakarta: Indonesian Fredy Tan is supposed to go to Singapore at the end of Feb for an annual medical check-upward with his married woman and ane-year-old son.
Just with more fourscore cases of COVID-19 being reported in the country, the 52-twelvemonth-old Jakartan may postpone his travel plans.
Mr Tan has been regularly travelling to Singapore for medical check-ups since 2000, every bit he admires the professionalism of the doctors and trusts the health system.
Nevertheless, the current state of affairs is worrying from his perspective. "I think information technology is serious," he told CNA.
"We practise not want to be near whatsoever hospital because they have so many germs," Mr Tan explained, calculation that they are as well fugitive malls and other places where crowds typically gather.
Indonesian medical tourists interviewed by CNA said that they are postponing their travel plans, especially if the trips are for non-essential treatments.
Mr Tan'south concerns are shared by Ms Cecilia Juarso, a Surabaya resident who likewise had plans to travel to Singapore for medical screening.
The 34-yr-former business owner usually flies to Singapore in one case or twice a year for a medical cheque-up and was planning to get in that location old in Feb or March with her female parent.
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But given the latest situation in Singapore, Ms Juarso is at present postponing it.
"I'd prefer to wait for the situation to become better first, or even await until there is a vaccine set," Ms Juarso said.
She said the medical check-up tin be rescheduled as it is non urgent and they take yet to buy tickets.
She and her mother, yet, are withal going to Penang, Malaysia for a separate medical cheque-up this week since her female parent suffers from age-related macular degeneration.
The health screening has to be done on fourth dimension and routinely by the doctor in Penang who handled her female parent from the beginning – she is now in her seventh yr of treatment.
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"I actually do worry a fleck (to go to Penang) only the doc's schedule cannot exist postponed every bit it may pose a hazard to semi-permanent blindness if nosotros delay it.
"Besides, the COVID-xix cases seem to be more prominent in Singapore, perhaps as Singapore is a worldwide point of flight transit, unlike Penang," she said.
Malaysia has more than twenty confirmed COVID-nineteen cases, while Indonesia has withal to report its offset case.
Mr Ronny Winata, a Jakarta-based travel consultant with Aviatour, said: "I have a few medical tourist customers who cancelled their trips (to Singapore). But if it is urgent, they're withal going."
He was speaking to CNA during a rather quiet Singapore Airlines travel fair in Djakarta last weekend.
DOCTORS Advise Against TRIPS TO SINGAPORE
In some instances, the doctors are advising patients against trips to Singapore.
An Indonesian woman living in Jakarta, who did not want to named, said she was supposed to head to Singapore this weekend for health screening but is now cancelling the trip.
The breast cancer survivor was told by her doctor to avoid visiting Singapore for the time being, as her condition is vulnerable.
"The doc said I should wait until the (DORSCON) alert level is downgraded to Yellow ... They will call me again early on March," said the woman who is in her 60s.
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Singapore raised the Disease Outbreak Response Arrangement Condition (DORSCON) level to orange from xanthous on Feb vii.
Responding to CNA's queries, Singapore's Mountain Elizabeth Hospital said it has advised patients to defer non-essential procedures.
"Since the Singapore Ministry of Wellness raised the DORSCON level to Orangish on February 7, and until we have a firmer grip on the situation, we accept brash all our local and overseas patients to postpone non-essential procedures and treatments at our hospitals.
"This is to limit the risk of exposure for all patients, their visitors and loved ones," Dr Noel Yeo, Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Elizabeth Hospital said in a written statement.
He added: "Nevertheless, there are however many patients who come to us for disquisitional or essential treatment.
"They are unable to defer their intendance or find culling medical options in their dwelling house country. For such patients, our hospitals have put in place all necessary precautions to protect their well-existence and minimise the run a risk of infections."
Dr Yeo is too the chairman of the DORSCON Orangish Command Centre at Parkway Pantai'south Singapore Operations Partitioning.
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A spokesperson from Farrer Park Infirmary said that adjustments take been fabricated to patients' visits so that they can come to Singapore during a safer fourth dimension.
"This measure is taken with good intentions to ensure patients returning from Singapore are not subjected to unnecessary quarantine. In the concurrently, nosotros extend the patients' medications till a visit can be arranged," said the spokesperson.
As a result, the number of Indonesian patients visiting the hospital is lower, said the spokesperson. However, Farrer Park Hospital said it is difficult to ascertain the exact driblet in the number of patients given the fluidity of the situation.
More than 3.1 1000000 Indonesians visited Singapore in 2019, making information technology the 2d-largest number of international tourists in the state later on China.
Despite the outbreak, Mr Mohamed Firhan Abdul Salam, Singapore Tourism Board'due south expanse director for Indonesia was quoted as maxim by Indonesian media earlier this week: "Nosotros're set for business-as-usual."
"All businesses and tourism sites are open and operating commonly. However, we are very cautious well-nigh people who are sick and showing symptoms of the virus," he noted.
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TRUST IN SINGAPORE'S HEALTH System
Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, the medical tourists maintained that there is trust in Singapore'due south hospitals and doctors.
"I think the Singaporean medical services are good and the doctors are professional," said Ms Lydia Sheridan, 36, even as she is thinking of postponing her trip in Apr.
The self-employed Jakartan is scheduled to get her yearly medical check-up with her mother in Singapore equally she used to live there and still has relatives living in Singapore.
"The situation is worrying as it (COVID-19) spreads within clusters quickly ... But I'm positive the situation will be handled and is soon under control," she said.
Mr Fredy Tan as well has conviction in the Singapore system, even though he is staying away for now.
He thinks Singapore has the best organisation in the region to detect and handle the outbreak.
"The government did a practiced job at informing the public albeit sacrificing the economy a bit ... Kudos to the government of Singapore," he said.
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/asia/covid-19-some-indonesian-medical-tourists-put-travel-singapore-300316
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