These polyclinics and GP clinics are used by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to monitor for possible outbreaks, and to track influenza strains.

Until the circuit breaker in April last year, and the introduction of safety measures for Covid-19, such as the wearing of masks, there has not been a month without any laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza since the MOH started monitoring for flu more than a decade ago.

Samples from some patients who appear to have influenza at these clinics are sent to the National Public Health Laboratory for testing.

The last case that tested positive for influenza, according to the MOH's weekly infectious diseases bulletin, was one person with type A influenza in May last year. Similarly, there was also only one case of influenza diagnosed in April.