Research on COVID-19
COVID-19 Omicron Variant Rapid Report
On 26 November 2021, the World Health Organisation designated SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 a ‘variant of concern’ and named it Omicron.
The Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health summarises the emerging information, expert opinion and evidence around Omicron in a rapid review that will be updated at weekly intervals as the evidence gathers.
This report continues the series of COVID-19 Science Reports produced by the School in 2020 when Singapore saw its first cases.
Publications
Epidemiological, Clinical, and Phylogenetic Characteristics of the First SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in a Nursing Home of Singapore: A Prospective Observational Investigation
Wastewater surveillance to infer COVID-19 transmission: A systematic review
Impact of travel ban implementation on COVID-19 spread in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea during the early phase of the pandemic: a comparative study
Factors associated with high compliance behaviour against COVID-19 in the early phase of pandemic: a cross-sectional study in 12 Asian countries
Factors influencing SARS-CoV-2 transmission and outbreak control measures in densely populated settings
Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of non-severe and severe pediatric and adult COVID-19 patients across different geographical regions in the early phase of pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
Association between well-being and compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures by healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study
Estimating direct and spill-over impacts of political elections on COVID-19 transmission using synthetic control methods
Micronutrients Deficiency, Supplementation and Novel Coronavirus Infections—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
How the lessons of previous epidemics helped successful countries fight covid-19
Highly functional virus-specific cellular immune response in asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection
The Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic on Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Infectivity of asymptomatic versus symptomatic COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and transmission risk factors among high-risk close contacts: a retrospective cohort study
Lessons learnt from easing COVID-19 restrictions: an analysis of countries and regions in Asia Pacific and Europe
Revealing regional disparities in the transmission potential of SARS-CoV-2 from interventions in Southeast Asia
Strategies at points of entry to reduce importation risk of COVID-19 cases and reopen travel
Importations of COVID-19 into African countries and risk of onward spread
The Costs of an Expanded Screening Criteria for COVID-19: A Modelling Study
Modelling lockdown and exit strategies for COVID-19 in Singapore
The Practice of Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory During COVID-19 Pandemic: Position Statements of the Asian Neurogastroenterology and Motility Association (ANMA-GML-COVID-19 Position Statements)
Use of Health Belief Model–Based Deep Learning Classifiers for COVID-19 Social Media Content to Examine Public Perceptions of Physical Distancing: Model Development and Case Study
Estimating the Size of a COVID-19 Epidemic from Surveillance Systems
Ethical Implementation of Immunity Passports During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of Cases During the Early Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Assessment of Proficiency of N95 Mask Donning Among the General Public in Singapore
Measuring the Outreach Efforts of Public Health Authorities and the Public Response on Facebook During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Early 2020: Cross-Country Comparison
Connecting clusters of COVID-19: an epidemiological and serological investigation
Institutional, not home-based, isolation could contain the COVID-19 outbreak
A Systematic Review of COVID-19 Epidemiology Based on Current Evidence
Covid-19: a remote assessment in primary care
Epidemiological and Clinical Predictors of COVID-19
Interventions to mitigate early spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Singapore: a modelling study
How Should the Rehabilitation Community Prepare for 2019-nCoV?
Published: March 2020
doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2020.03.003
Investigation of three clusters of COVID-19 in Singapore: implications for surveillance and response measures
Potential Rapid Diagnostics, Vaccine and Therapeutics for 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV): A Systematic Review
SSHSPH COVID-19 Science Reports
When Singapore saw its first case of COVID-19 on 24 January 2020, the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health started to collate emerging evidence to produce COVID-19 Science Reports for researchers, policymakers and regional colleagues. The reports were based on searches of research databases, relevant journals, science reports and expert comment, and were updated at weekly intervals until July 2020. The last versions are shared below.
Introduction
Clinical Characteristics
Fever, tiredness, cough and sore throat are the most common presenting symptoms and many cases are mild. Older people and those with underlying medical conditions like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness. Early identification through analysis of detailed clinical presentations supports understanding and care of these high-risk groups. This section reviews the latest evidence.
Diagnostics
As COVID-19 has similar clinical characteristics to many other respiratory illnesses, accurate and timely diagnosis contributes to prompt public health surveillance, prevention and control measures. Latest developments in diagnostic testing for COVID-19 are outlined in this section.
Therapeutics
There is currently no specific drug treatment for COVID-19. Existing drugs used to treat other conditions may be candidates and repurposed for COVID-19, and are undergoing clinical trials. This section summarises the research in relation to potential drug treatments.
Vaccines
There are currently no vaccines effective against COVID-19. There has been no significant change in the RNA of the virus since its emergence and potential vaccines are in development. This section provides an overview of vaccines in research and development.
Containment Measures
Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are often the only options available to governments to contain an evolving outbreak until the arrival of medical solutions. This section surveys the current literature on NPIs used in outbreaks of respiratory diseases and summarises the key measures taken, evidence on their effectiveness and efficiency, and considerations and impact from their deployment.
Lockdowns
This report explores the learning around lockdown measures from the 1918 pandemic and current COVID-19 case study examples. This report should be read alongside the COVID-19 Science Report: Containment Measures (above).
Exit Strategies
Exit Strategies Appendix - Safe Reopening of Schools
Countries around the world have implemented various combinations of safe measures in the reopening of schools. This appendix reviews these measures and discusses the rationale and considerations behind them.