Three strategies to help Singapore live with Covid-19 9
Scientists agree that the strategy proposed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will help Singapore prepare for the future when Covid-19 becomes a seasonal pathogen.
Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore (NUS), commented: `This is a practical step because experts say the world cannot eradicate nCoV
Vaccines are the first step
According to Professor Dale Fisher, an infectious disease expert from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, vaccines are the leading solution to help Singapore achieve herd immunity.
Professor Fisher said: `Vaccines make Covid-19 a mild disease. If only a few people have to breathe oxygen and no one dies, and everyone else has no symptoms such as sore throat and runny nose, we will
According to Professor Teo, Singapore’s consideration of vaccination as a long-term strategy to deal with Covid-19 is demonstrated by the country allowing private medical service providers to deploy vaccines approved by the World Health Organization.
People who are allergic to the two mRNA vaccines used in Singapore, such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, can choose vaccines from Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm instead.
As of June 1, more than 40% of the country’s population has been vaccinated with at least one dose, and over 30% of the population has been fully vaccinated.
People at high risk of infection such as health care workers, epidemic prevention frontliners and most citizens aged 45 and older have been vaccinated with at least one dose of vaccine.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong received the Covid-19 vaccine at Singapore General Hospital on January 8.
Drastically trace
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said officials will expand the tracing network, requiring mandatory quarantine for those in close contact with the patient.
Because the new variant is more transmissible and the incubation period may be longer, Mr. Teo said: `People in the household may be infected with the virus before tracing catches up. Expanding quarantine subjects is important.`
However, tracing should not be done excessively to avoid wasting a lot of effort and causing financial difficulties for families.
People with low incomes could be hit hard if they take time off work to quarantine, he said.
Tracing the source of infection will also be faster and more extensive due to experienced staff and highly effective supporting tools such as TraceTogether, SafeEntry…
The private sector and people self-test
In addition to purchasing Covid-19 test kits at pharmacies, the Prime Minister announced that people can get tested periodically at work or community care facilities.
In addition, regular testing will be applied to high-risk groups such as worker housing areas, construction sites, shipyards, seaports, airports, hospitals…
In addition, the Prime Minister said that many other testing methods such as testing saliva samples, using breath testing machines and monitoring wastewater sources have been deployed.
Although self-test kits are less sensitive than PCR, repeated testing can increase the chance of detecting a positive case, said Dr Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious disease specialist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Singapore.
The `new normal` perspective
Prime Minister Long commented in his speech on Singapore’s new anti-epidemic strategy: `One day the pandemic will weaken, but I think Covid-19 will not disappear but will continue to exist and become a special disease.
Our goal is to ensure the health of the entire community and accept that people will sometimes contract viruses, like flu or dengue fever.
According to Mr. Long, there will come a time when people will be able to gather at entertainment and sports events without having to wear masks and travel to low-risk countries.
`When the number of deaths and hospitalizations is low, we can relax measures and gradually exit the pandemic,` he said.
If vaccination is a key way to achieve herd immunity, will promoting testing and tracing create too great a burden?
`Testing and tracing is still necessary until we reach the goal. If not done, the situation could become serious because currently only 40% of the population has been vaccinated with at least one dose,` Fisher warned.
