On Mar. 6, 2003, the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO), announced they had been notified about three persons who had traveled to Hong Kong during late February and were admitted during a 5-day period to local hospitals for pneumonia.

The investigation revealed they had been guests at Hotel M (Kowloon, Hong Kong) on February 20 and 21, coinciding with the stay of a person with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) who transmitted disease to at least 13 guests.

SARS was a new and rapidly progressive respiratory syndrome termed identified by the WHO as a global threat. SARS went on to spread globally over the following months to over 30 countries and became the first pandemic of the 21st century.