Published June 26, 2009

H1N1 flu comes to Raffles Place

50 CIMB remisiers sent on home quarantine after one of them catches virus from his son; ministry expects H1N1 cases to rise

By VEN SREENIVASAN

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(SINGAPORE) It was just a matter of time, but the H1N1 flu has finally landed in the heart of Singapore's financial district.

CIMB Securities yesterday ordered 50 of its remisiers at its Raffles Place office to go on home quarantine after one of them caught the H1N1 virus from his son.

The company said it has activated its business contingency plan, which requires all staff of the entire trading floor where the infected person was located to be home-quarantined for seven days. The development comes even as the Ministry of Health indicated yesterday that it expected a rise in H1N1 cases in the days to come.

'Fortunately, we had our contingency plan in place, so we were prepared when this happened,' said company spokeswoman, Chow Hooi Chin.

Besides putting in place measures to minimise physical interaction between different teams of brokers, the company is also splitting teams for back-office operations so that each department will have the necessary staff required to undertake the daily operations of the business, she added.

Daily temperature checks have also been initiated and heads of departments have been told to monitor staff for flu-like symptoms. Information on all visitors is recorded and travel histories of all employees logged.

Meanwhile, the infected broker has been hospitalised. He caught the virus from his teenage son, who had been infected at the Butter Factory, a night spot across from Fullerton Hotel. The popular club has been identified as a cluster with five H1N1 cases linked to it as of this week.

The quarantined brokers' phone lines have been re-routed to their home or mobile lines. Brokers can then initiate orders either via the company's Internet platform or by calling into its central buying desk.

'It is a bit of an inconvenience, but things are still working as they should,' Ms Chow said.

CIMB is one of Singapore's fastest growing financial houses, with about 700 staffers in its securities side - including 300 brokers - and another 200 staff at its banking unit.

This is the first time any major player within the local financial industry has faced the H1N1 threat at its operating premises. But with some 200 cases of the flu confirmed islandwide, most brokerages and banks have been quietly preparing for the eventuality.

DBS Vickers Securities' chief executive Edmund Lee said his company had prepared its business contingency plans.

'We have pandemic plans in place, and this include splitting operations between our main location at PWC Building and ComTech,' he explained. 'If someone is sick, we will send the entire team home to operate. Arrangements will be made for clients to continue speaking to them. Meanwhile, we have taken measures to minimise interaction between brokers on different floors.'

Meanwhile, at Citibank, even staff travelling overseas on business are monitored for symptoms of the flu. 'Citi is committed to taking necessary precautions to ensure the health and well-being of our clients and employees,' a spokesman said.

'Our Continuity of Business Taskforce has been monitoring the H1N1 situation closely and has implemented contingency plans. Staff who return from overseas travel have been advised to closely monitor their health and if they feel unwell, to immediately seek medical help and advice.'

Meanwhile, Singapore may see a rise in the number of H1N1 flu cases even as the traditional flu season tails off.

Already, the proportion of H1N1 cases among samples from influenza surveillance has been climbing sharply.

It rose from about 2 per cent for the first three days starting June 17 when H1N1 was first registered on the surveillance, to 4.7 per cent on June 22.

'We can expect to see exponential rises (in the percentage),' said Lyn James, director of the communicable diseases division at the Ministry of Health.

The trend in Singapore mirrors that of the US, where the buildup of H1N1 cases has resulted in another peak in influenza positive tests reported to its Centers for Disease Control.

The trend may see Singapore move from the containment stage to the mitigation stage. But this will only happen once the proportion of H1N1 cases in the flu surveillance sample hit 15 per cent, said K Satku, director of medical services at MOH,

'Only then it is worthwhile for us to start treating without testing because we want to make sure that the people receiving the medication will benefit from it,' he said.

Lim Poh Lian, senior infectious disease consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, stressed the need to keep vigilant as there is a lag between the disease first hitting a community and cases of mortality. She also pointed out that once the number of cases starts to rise, even a low death rate would imply that there are still lives to be saved.

(With additional reporting by ZHANG YI TING)