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A little over two months since the coronavirus emerged, more than 92,000 people have been infected and over 3,000 have succumbed to it. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently raised the global risk assessment level to ‘very high’, but many have been questioning why it has yet to declare COVID-19 a pandemic. By definition, a pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease, with increasing and sustained transmission in the general population. For now, there is comparatively lesser infected cases and slower spread outside of China, South Korea, ItalyRead more

Sun exposure increases risk of skin cancer, and various demographic factors influence sun safety behaviour.. In Singapore, although the local population spends less time under the sun as compared to Western populations, sun safety habits are not widely practised. Men, young adults, dark-skinned individuals and those with lower education levels are most vulnerable to poor sun safety habits and prolonged sun exposure. This was identified in the first local survey to study sun safety behaviour among Singaporeans. The study was conducted by Assistant Professor Seow Wei Jie, and Dr YewRead more

While Singapore has managed to slow the spread of the disease, the virus continues to spread rapidly around the world. “Singapore’s approach of actively looking for new cases and quarantining close contacts has been effective in ring-fencing clusters of infection so far, and we have not seen evidence of community spread… However, it is premature to say that the worst is over,” said Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, Chief Health Scientist at the Ministry of Health. “Given the rate at which new cases are being reported around the world, there isRead more

Drawing on lessons learnt from SARS in 2003, Singapore confronted the COVID-19 outbreak with a cautious step-by-step approach. Since the virus spreads through contact with respiratory droplets (and there is currently no evidence of airborne transmission), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has discouraged the public from hoarding and wearing masks when they are not sick. Maintaining proper hand hygiene and avoiding touching the face are more effective to reduce chance of infection. On that note, Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, partner at Ogilvy Wymann and Co-Director of Global Health at SSHSPH,Read more

The Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health often hosts interns and elective students from Singapore and internationally. These placements offer a great opportunity to understand more about public health and contribute to some of our research and translational efforts. These students often stay in contact throughout their careers and become part of the School’s extended family, or indeed, faculty. This week we talk to Tan Hao Yi who for the last four weeks has been working with our Public Health Translational Team. With his medical background, positive can-do attitude andRead more

Singapore’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak has been praised by Dr Tedros Adhanom, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, as well as Dr Marc Lipsitch, Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. But can we keep it up if the outbreak gets worse? Based on studies of past outbreaks, Associate Professor Alex Cook, Vice Dean (Research) and Domain Leader (Biostatistics and Modelling), and Assistant Professor Hannah Clapham outline three possible scenarios on how the outbreak and its control may affect our lives in the months ahead. ReadRead more

It has been slightly more than a month since Singapore confirmed its first case of COVID-19 infection. While it may feel like a long time, the outbreak is still in its early days, wrote Associate Professor Steven Ooi Peng Lim and Professor Leo Yee Sin. They believe that the situation will get worse before it gets better, and they are confident that Singapore will be successful in overcoming this public health crisis. It ultimately depends not so much on disease duration as on our collective resilience, they wrote. “Sustainability isRead more

The COVID-19 outbreak seems to have tapered off in Singapore in the past week — four weeks after the virus was first confirmed here — but it is still far too early to say the worst is over. While the number of new cases detected has fallen steadily, there is no way to be certain that another surge will not happen. The fall in the number of confirmed cases in the past week indicates that Singapore’s efforts have been successful in limiting the spread of COVID-19, said Associate Professor HsuRead more

Healthcare workers work harder and longer in a public health crisis. At the front line of patient care, they are vulnerable to catching the coronavirus they are fighting. Having gained valuable lessons and insights from the SARS outbreak in 2003, Singapore has put in place adequate measures to protect them in this current COVID-19 outbreak. Dr Gan Wee Hoe (MPH ‘11), head of the department of occupational and environmental medicine at Singapore General Hospital and Adjunct Assistant Professor at SSHSPH, and Professor Chia Kee Seng share an overview of whatRead more

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.Read more

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 warehouseRead more