News

Assistant Professor Clarence Tam and his team have been awarded grant funding from the Wellcome Trust to strengthen the evidence base on SARS-CoV-2. They will conduct a serological study to investigate the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the general population in three settings in Asia: Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand. The study aims to provide crucial information regarding population exposure and SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics; and to give a complete picture of the relationship between clinically apparent and asymptomatic infections. The team comprises researchers from Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand: DrRead more

Most Singaporeans will remember the 2003 SARS epidemic, or the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Less well remembered are three other influenza pandemics of the 20th century: the 1918 Spanish flu, the 1957 ‘Asian flu’ and the 1968 ‘Hong Kong flu’. As we face the current COVID-19 outbreak, what are the lessons that we can learn by looking back at past pandemics? Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases) said, “There are broad parallels that can be drawn between these pandemics, largely because human behaviour has not changed much over

The number of new daily local cases has held steady over the past two weeks, with an average of 37 a day in the last week. Vice Dean (Research), Associate Professor Alex Cook said that the ‘circuit breaker’ measures are targeted at reducing such local cases, and there have been “quite reassuring signs” that it is working so far. “Sufficient time has passed for the majority of household transmissions, if any, to have occurred, as a result of people staying at home,” added Dean, Professor Teo Yik Ying. Still, residents

During a virtual ‘Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19’ held on 14 April, ASEAN leaders and the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea pledged to boost cooperation to curb the spread of the coronavirus and mitigate the pandemic’s devastating economic fallout. In a declaration after the summit, ASEAN leaders emphasised a ‘whole-of-ASEAN community approach’ to the virus outbreak and called on member states to help each other. This includes keeping trade routes open to protect food supplies and medical equipment, the development of a post-pandemic recovery plan, and

Singapore recorded its highest daily increase earlier this week, with 386 new cases confirmed on 13 April. We are now fighting COVID-19 on two distinct fronts — in the community and in foreign worker dormitories, said Dean, Professor Teo Yik Ying. While the government has implemented more measures to curb further spread in the dorms, Prof Teo said that it will take some time to see the effects of these new measures. He foresees that the number of dorm-linked cases will continue to increase in the meantime. On the community

Singapore managed to contain the outbreak in its first two months here, earning praise from around the world. However, the number of cases has steadily risen in the past few weeks; first with imported cases as people returned home, and then with local cases as the virus spread within the community. Over the last week, the number of new daily local cases remained high, with many linked to foreign worker dormitories. “The virus has been very efficient at highlighting to us the weaknesses of our societies — that’s certainly the

The Public Health Translational Team (PHTT) has been producing the weekly COVID-19 Science Reports since the beginning of the epidemic in Singapore. It started when Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, Chief Health Scientist at the Ministry of Health (MOH), asked for the School’s help to collate relevant information on diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. The first report was delivered within four days, and more topics, such as clinical characteristics and social distancing measures, were added in the following weeks. Prof Tan said the reports have been very useful for MOH’s work, as

Singapore’s ‘circuit breaker’ measures aim to lower the basic reproduction number of COVID-19, also known as R0 (prounounced R-naught), and reduce the average number of people who catch the virus from a single infected person. According to Vice Dean (Research), Associate Professor Alex Cook, data suggests that Singapore’s cumulative measures to contain the outbreak have been successful in driving down R0 to be at or below one since the start of the outbreak in January. This means that each infected person here spreads the disease to about one other person

The ‘circuit breaker’, Singapore’s tightest measures so far to curb the spread of the virus, started on 7 April and will last for at least four weeks. It calls for Singaporeans to stay at home as far as possible, and to keep contact with others to a minimum and within the immediate household. The measures include the closure of all schools and non-essential workplaces. Senior Health Correspondent at The Straits Times, Ms Salma Khalik wrote that whether the ‘circuit breaker’ is extended depends on three main areas of viral transmission: