“You cannot fight a fire blindfolded and we cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected. We have a simple message for all countries; test, test, test.”
This was the message from the World Health Organization to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many countries have imposed mass lockdowns and ordered people to stay home. But few have implemented widespread testing, including many European countries and US who are limiting tests for only the most critical of cases, as testing kits are in short supply.
Singapore has managed to keep community transmission here to a manageable number with its active testing, contact tracing and quarantine measures, according to Dean, Professor Teo Yik Ying.
He was speaking on Al Jazeera’s Inside Story, together with Dr Arisina Ma, President of the Hong Kong Public Doctors’ Association, and Dr Ingrid Katz, Assistant Faculty Director of Harvard University’s Global Health Institute.
In response to whether it is ‘too late’ for countries like UK, France and Spain to follow the Singapore model, Prof Teo said that in regions where there is no widespread community transmission yet, active contact tracing and isolation of cases can help to keep the numbers down.
“But I have to emphasise: the testing is imperative. We must continue testing to know who has been infected and to take the right measures to isolate those who are infected away from the community,” he added.
“We really have to look at helping all countries in the world manage this problem properly. Otherwise, we will see a prolonged drag of this disease across the world,” said Prof Teo.
Media coverage:
- How can obstacles to widespread coronavirus testing be overcome?, Al Jazeera Inside Story, 23 March 2020