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When can the world breathe a collective sigh of relief? When can we stop taking protective measures? These questions put forward by Salma Khalik, Senior Health Correspondent at The Straits Times, are no doubt also at the front of everyone’s minds. The COVID-19 outbreak will likely be a long battle; it is not something that will blow over in a week or two. It is thus important to time public health measures so that they will make the most impact and not impose unnecessary hardship on people. Vice Dean (Research),Read more

Researchers from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases have confirmed that the transmission mechanism of COVID-19 is different from SARS and in fact more similar to H1N1 or influenza. Like influenza, COVID-19 is infectious when symptoms are mild. Assistant Professor Clarence Tam stressed that even if the risk of mortality from a virus is low, it can still cause a large number of deaths if it spreads easily. “The available data indicate that this new virus is not as deadly as SARS, but spreads much more readily from person to person.

The change in the COVID-19 risk assessment level from Yellow to Orange last week prompted a sudden surge in demand for groceries and household essentials across stores in Singapore. Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said, “We just want to continue to assure Singaporeans that our supply chains, when it comes to food and grocery items, remain robust. Our diversification strategy ensures that we are protected from any sudden shocks. We were able to meet that demand. It was simply a matter of getting the supplies out from the warehouse

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

Some patients who tested positive for COVID-19 had visited a doctor twice or thrice before it was confirmed that they were infected. Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang explains that general practitioners are sometimes unable to identify suspected cases on the first visit to the clinic because the initial symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to flu or the common cold. “Without other indicators such as a recent travel history to mainland China or contact with other confirmed cases, it would not be easy for GPs to differentiate

Studies have shown that viruses thrive better in cool, dry climates, and they do not persist well in hot, humid environments (over 30°C and 80 per cent humidity level). Singapore’s tropical climate makes it less conducive for the spread of the novel coronavirus — now officially named COVID-19 — but this also means there is extensive use of air-conditioning as a way to escape from the heat. “Air-conditioning is something that can’t be helped in Singapore, especially during the hot months,” said Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (Infectious