Last Friday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) raised the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) from Yellow to Orange, following several cases of COVID-19 with no links to other cases.
Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, Partner at Oliver Wyman and Co-Director of Global Health at SSHSPH, Assistant Professor Clarence Tam and Mr Adrian Tan, APAC Practice Leader (Future of Work and Tech) at PeopleStrong, share their thoughts relating to the change in DORSCON level in Channel NewsAsia’s latest episode of Heart of the Matter.
On the panic-buying that was observed after the DORSCON was elevated, Dr Tam said, “It’s difficult to know how people are going to interpret that information.”
He added, “There are some sectors of the population where there might be concerns because there are more vulnerable people. But for most individuals, the general risk is fairly low. The DORSCON Orange level is just a recognition that we do have some pockets of local transmission and that we have to be more vigilant and monitor those more closely.”
A/Prof Lim also shared his hopes that the personal hygiene measures which are being actively promoted now will be ingrained and practised even when there is no infectious disease outbreak.
He said, “If we don’t let a ‘good crisis go to waste’, the future would be one where all of us practise sensible basic hygiene. We wash our hands frequently. If we’re unwell, we would voluntarily socially isolate ourselves, and wear a mask if we have to go out. So the hope is that some of these good behaviours will become entrenched.”
Related:
- Commentary by Asst Prof Clarence Tam: We know more about the novel coronavirus but uncertainty remains about how virus spreads, 4 February 2020
- Opinion piece by A/Prof Jeremy Lim: Get ready for the new normal in public health, 4 February 2020