Will it not be dangerous to the landlords' household if they are infected? After all, people may not show symptoms of infection for a few days.
Even in workers' dormitories, I imagine that separate quarantine rooms are set aside for these returnees, away from the main worker population.
So, why aren't landlords allowed the same safety measures? ??????
It will not help the situation if the returnees infect the landlords' family members, which could, in turn, lead to a spread to the public when the family members leave the house and go about Singapore.
Mr Sim Lim Onn's remark that there is never a best time to take action when dealing with a public health crisis is most remarkable, given the rare admission of fault by the Chinese authorities that they could have acted earlier to curb the novel coronavirus at the outset (Beijing doing its best to contain outbreak, Feb 8).
The death toll from the contagion in China alone has already surpassed the fatalities worldwide for the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak in 2003.
Given the staggering growth in tourism, trade and travel to and from China over the past decade, governments across the world are right to be concerned about the threat of a widespread pandemic and implement the necessary measures to stem the tide in their respective territories.
There is nothing xenophobic about imposing restrictions on all China-related travel, regardless of nationality, to contain the viral spread.
Even China has done this domestically and internationally to mitigate the ongoing outbreak.
In fact, during the outbreak of swine flu in 2009, Mexico had accused China of discrimination against Mexicans as part of its control measures.
Mexican officials complained about its nationals residing in China's territory being quarantined, that direct flights to Mexico were cancelled, the issuing of visas to Mexicans halted, and consulates in Mexico closed - against the World Health Organisation's recommendations.
