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Earlier this week, the multi-ministry taskforce announced a three-phase transition to a ‘new normal’, as the next step in Singapore’s fight against COVID-19. As Singapore exits its ‘circuit breaker’ on 2 June, schools will reopen progressively and a third of the workforce will return to their workplaces. Dean, Professor Teo Yik Ying said that the phased transition “is a very prudent approach” as it allows us to determine which sector is contributing to any resurgence in cases. “We are testing to see what works and what doesn’t, and if weRead more

The School congratulates Dr Margaret Chan, the former Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and esteemed SSHSPH alumna (Class of ’85, MSc Public Health and Occupational Medicine) on being appointed the inaugural Dean of Vanke School of Public Health at Tsinghua University. Assuming the role and responsibilities as Dean, Dr Chan and the School’s list of distinguished faculty will focus on training the next generation of leaders to shape and strengthen the public health policy in China. The newly established school will also contribute towards China’s public health emergenciesRead more

Over the past week, an average of 700 cases were reported daily that were linked to foreign worker dormitories. Even as the number of dormitory-linked cases continues to rise, Vice Dean (Research), Associate Professor Alex Cook said the situation is better than originally expected and “the number of cases is consistently lower in reality than what the models say it should have been”. He said that this could be interpreted either pessimistically, that not all cases are detected yet due to a lack of capacity, or optimistically, that the curveRead more

Vaccination or immunisation is considered one of the greatest public health interventions in the world, saving millions of lives a year. For World Immunisation Week, which falls on the last week of April every year, Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), penned a commentary on immunisation, how vaccines work and are developed, and why a COVID-19 vaccine is no magic bullet. In an ideal situation, we are able to develop a COVID-19 vaccine that provides universal lifelong protection. But this may not be the case and theRead more

Governments around the world are beginning to ease restrictions as the virus shows signs of slowing down. There are discussions in a number of countries about the use of ‘immunity certificates’ that would allow people to show they have antibodies to the disease and are therefore allowed to work or travel. But the World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned against such measures. “There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,” WHO said. Assistant Professor Hannah Clapham commentedRead more

At the start of the year, prestigious journal Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) welcomed PhD student Mr Rayner Tan on its editorial board, as part of the editorial team of its new series — Perspectives. The second issue was published on 17 April 2020, with Rayner as one of the co-authors. Today we have the pleasure to speak with him about his research and the difference he hopes to make in public health.

On 21 April, the government announced the extension of Singapore’s ‘circuit breaker’ measures to 1 June. While there are encouraging signs that the measures have been effective so far, Dean, Professor Teo Yik Ying said that the numbers of new cases have not fallen as quickly as expected. He added that after more than two weeks, the number of new cases in the community should have been lower. “This really points to some ‘leakages’ happening in the community, either amongst people who are supposed to be home but have beenRead more

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 overRead more

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, residentsRead more

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, andRead more

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 communityRead more