16 March – Guidelines are issued to screen emergency department patients for fever and travel history to SARS-affected areas, as well as on infection-control. 22 March – TTSH is designated the SARS hospital. The SARS hotline is set up, with the number of cases increasing to 44. 24 March – Singapore invokes the Infectious Diseases Act. As a result, about 740 people are placed on Home Quarantine Orders for 10 days. 25 March – The first SARS death happens. 26 March – A second person dies due to SARS. The Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Health (MOH) will close all primary schools, secondary schools, junior colleges and centralised institutes due to the SARS outbreak from 27 March to 6 April. Due to this, the school term will be extended into the holidays. Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) are unaffected by this closure of schools. In addition, childcare centres, special education schools, madrasahs, playgroups and tuition classes will also close during this period with pre-school centres and student care centres advised to close. As a result, this makes it the first time since Singapore's independence that schools are closed. 27 March – Patients who die of SARS must be cremated within 24 hours. 29 March – Temperature checks are introduced for all passengers arriving into Singapore through Changi Airport. 5 April – A SARS outbreak occurs at Singapore General Hospital. MOE and MOH extend school closures with reopening of schools in stages, starting from junior colleges and centralised institutes on 9 April, secondary schools on 14 April and finally primary schools on 16 April. Pre-school centres and kindergartens will be allowed to reopen from 16 April. 6 April – A ministerial committee to tackle SARS is formed. 7 April – TTSH doctor Ong Hok Su becomes the first hospital worker to die from SARS. In addition, another patient dies from SARS. 11 April – The new Infrared Fever Sensing System (IFSS) is introduced in Changi Airport to screen travellers arriving into Singapore. Originally intended for military use, the system is jointly developed by Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) and ST Electronics. 4 more IFSS systems will be deployed by 18 April. 20 April – After several SARS cases discovered, the Pasir Panjang Vegetable Wholesale Market (PPWC) is ordered to close until 29 April. 22 April – SGH surgeon Alexandre Chao dies from SARS. 23 April – All eight