News

Two new clusters were identified in the past week, with 20 cases related to a preschool in Fengshan. “Some may perceive that in this particular case, some teachers who were not well ought to have left the centre immediately, rather than carry on with their duties for a couple more hours,” noted Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee. “But I hope that parents, the public and other colleagues recognise the realities on the ground and not in a two-dimensional way. … I think we should not jump toRead more

A combination of isolation and quarantine measures, workplace distancing and school closures was found to be the most effective in curbing the spread of COVID-19 in a simulated model of Singapore’s population. And at this early stage, quarantine and workplace distancing should be prioritised over school closures. This was presented in a paper titled ‘Interventions to mitigate early spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Singapore: a modelling study’ published in The Lancet on 23 March 2020. The study analysed different combinations of measures and their potential outcomes in a simulated model set

When pandemics like COVID-19 strike, authorities and governments are often fighting on two fronts. The first: understanding the virus, researching a cure and isolating infected populations. The second is the avalanche of fake news, rumours and lies posted by thousands across the internet – the accompanying ‘infodemic’. According to cybersecurity multinational Check Point, coronavirus-themed domains are 50 per cent more likely to be malicious than other domains. Experts suggest that while there is little evidence of mass-coordinated fake news campaigns, the biggest contributor to the infodemic is speculation and online

Tighter measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Singapore were introduced this past week. These include shutting our borders to tourists and short-term visitors, banning large gatherings, and ordering pubs and entertainment outlets to close from tonight (26 March) 11.59pm until 30 April. This has left some people wondering if the country is in a ‘partial lockdown’. While there is no universal definition of a lockdown, in most countries it is a protocol triggered by an emergency that restricts the movement of people, vehicles and goods, and where citizens

Among the 558 confirmed cases in Singapore, 326 were imported. Out of these, 111 cases were young adults aged between 20 and 29, with more than half returning from the United Kingdom. “The number of young people being infected reflects the demographics of people returning to Singapore as a result of the global situation, where a number of countries in Europe and North America are seeing widespread community transmission,” said Dean, Professor Teo Yik Ying. Despite previous reports suggesting that senior citizens are more vulnerable to infections, Prof Teo stressed:

Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, Co-Director of Global Health was invited by Milken Institute to be part of their COVID-19 Conference Call Series discussing global efforts and approaches in combatting the coronavirus pandemic. Assoc Prof Lim shared and attributed Singapore’s relatively well-controlled outbreak to the following points: Timely formation of multi-ministry task force, Transparency which earned citizens’ trust in government, Public education on measures to prevent spread. The session was moderated by Mr Michael Milken, Chairman of Milken Institute, and Ms Katie O’Reilly, Executive Director of Business and Program Development at Milken

“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

Effective today (24 March), all short-term visitors will be barred from entering or transiting through Singapore, in view of the recent surge in imported COVID-19 cases. To date, more than half of the 509 confirmed cases were imported. The travel restrictions are also extended to all work pass holders and their dependents with exception to those providing essential services, such as in healthcare and transport. “These are very significant moves especially for a small, open economy like Singapore that has always been connected to the world,” said National Development Minister

With the rapidly evolving situation, China is no longer the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak and the virus has spread to many other countries around the world. To minimise the risk of widespread community transmission, contact tracing and enhanced surveillance (such as enhanced pneumonia surveillance and testing of patients in intensive care units) is essential. Efforts should be focused on identifying locally acquired cases and containment to prevent further transmission in the community. This was proposed by a local team of researchers in a paper titled ‘Investigation of three clusters