News

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 MinisterRead more

Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang and Dr Tan Min-Han served as frontline physicians at Singapore’s Communicable Disease Centre (now the National Centre for Infectious Diseases) during the SARS outbreak and they are now involved in responding to the COVID-19 challenge in the country. In the spirit of international cooperation, they share their experiences and observations that may be of benefit to other countries, systems and individuals during this global challenge. These include a whole-of-government response, aggressive but targeted quarantine measures, emphasis on public health communication, and support for healthcare workers.Read more

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 clustersRead more

Singapore has reported 455 cases and two fatalities in exactly two months since its first confirmed case on 23 January. Assistant Professor Clarence Tam attributed the relatively well-controlled outbreak in both Hong Kong and Singapore to our small size and reinforced border control, which allowed for intensive contact tracing and screening. “Testing early and extensively, and effective isolation, contact tracing and quarantining has been key to bringing epidemics under control,” he said. Responding to concerns on school closures, Dr Tam said, “For COVID-19 we don’t currently know how much childrenRead more

From painkillers to antibiotics, China has been a major supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for a range of medicines. In this established supply system, companies have become increasingly reliant on lower-cost manufacturers in China. But the current outbreak could prompt overseas drug makers to consider diversifying their source of supply. “The trade-off between concentration risk and low prices was accepted by the world for many years, but I suspect COVID-19 will force a rethink of national strategies for pharmaceutical procurement,” said Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, Co-Director of the LeadershipRead more

A spike in COVID-19 cases globally has resulted in numerous countries taking stricter measures to control the spread, including Malaysia, who declared a nationwide lockdown that begun on Wednesday, 18 March. On 20 March, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong dispelled rumours that Singapore was going into a lockdown. “Can I just make it very clear? There is no lockdown,” he said in a press conference. The lockdown approach appears to have worked for China, with Hubei reporting zero new infections since the virus first emerged there. But Associate Professor HsuRead more

Beijing and Hong Kong have stepped up quarantine measures in the face of a second wave of infection, fuelled by incoming citizens and visitors, and threatening to undo previous efforts. COVID-19 cases reported in China and Hong Kong recently were mostly imported, with the number of domestic cases in the mainland dropping to zero for the first time since the virus emerged last December. All arrivals in Beijing are required self-isolate for 14 days in a designated hotel, while those in Hong Kong must undergo a 14-day self-isolation at homeRead more

Over 5,000 people here would have been infected with COVID-19 by now, if not for Singapore’s tough measures such as contact tracing and quarantines. As of 19 March, the total number of cases in Singapore is 345. “Right now, cases are sufficiently low, so the Government is able to put a lot of effort into contact tracing,” said Associate Professor Alex Cook, Vice Dean (Research) and Domain Leader (Biostatistics and Modelling). This, together with other measures such as border checks, has managed to reduce the transmission rate of the diseaseRead more

Countries thought to be recovering from the COVID-19 outbreak, like China and Singapore, remain susceptible and can expect a likely surge in imported cases and new outbreaks. This is especially so given the growing numbers in Europe, North America and several countries in the Middle East, along with cases arising in African and South American countries. How can we end, or at least manage, this pandemic? The answer lies in trying to convert a ‘tsunami’ into multiple smaller and manageable ‘waves’, wrote Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (InfectiousRead more

Singapore has worked a number of calibrated responses that can be divided into three broad buckets, said Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, Co-Director of the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation (LIGHT). “Firstly, we sought very hard to reduce the number of cases that are imported from overseas. Secondly, there was a very strenuous effort to identify local cases quickly and to minimise community spread. And thirdly, social distancing measures were also put in place to mitigate the impact of any community spread,” he said. He was speaking on The World,Read more

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last week that the COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore is likely to continue for at least a year, unlike SARS which lasted four months here. Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang elaborates on some key features of the COVID-19 pandemic that may be less well-known and what they mean for how Singapore tackles the outbreak. He wrote: “It is unlikely that the threat from Sars-CoV-2 will end in 2020, and may not entirely be dispelled even if an effective vaccine became available nextRead more

Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been hailed for using our experience with SARS to combat the current COVID-19. “Somewhat perversely, we can look at SARS as the dress rehearsal,” said Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, Co-Director, Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation (LIGHT). “The experience was raw, and very, very visceral. And on the back of [it], better systems were put in place.” While it is still too early for anywhere to declare victory, we have managed to keep numbers low so far, with praise for our quick response, rigorousRead more