Singapore new cases soared after "Coexisting With COVID-19" policy

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Singapore new cases soared after “Coexisting With COVID-19” policy

Singapore new cases soared after “Coexisting With COVID-19” policy.

Singapore has a record number of new cases of COVID-19 in a single day, and was forced to tighten epidemic prevention measures after “coexisting with the COVID-19”.

Singapore had to tighten its anti-epidemic policy from the 27th, which is currently tentatively scheduled for one month. Singaporeans which have just experienced a normal life may have to go back to the past again.

On August 10, Singapore began to implement a new epidemic prevention policy. The government no longer pursues zero diagnosis, but instead slogans “live with COVID-19 (coronavirus) and live as usual”.

However, after the implementation of this policy, starting from mid-to-late August, the number of confirmed COVID-19 in Singapore has risen sharply. On September 26, Singapore had 1,939 new confirmed cases, the highest since the epidemic.

The Ministry of Health of Singapore even predicts that in the new week beginning on the 27th, Singapore’s daily new confirmed cases will exceed 3,200.

For this reason, Singapore had to tighten its anti-epidemic policy from the 27th, which is currently tentatively scheduled for one month. Zhou Shixin, an associate researcher at the Asia-Pacific Research Center of the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, told the CBN reporter that Singapore has already anticipated the current situation when formulating a coexistence policy, and is currently intensively responding to it.

Although the severe disease rate in this round of the epidemic in Singapore is not high, the large-scale spread of the epidemic still constitutes a major public health crisis.

He also pointed out that Singapore’s policy of “coexisting with the COVID-19” has inspired other countries in Southeast Asia, and Singapore’s future anti-epidemic situation will also affect the anti-epidemic decision-making of other countries in the region.

Tighten the epidemic prevention policy

Singapore’s specific measures to tighten the epidemic prevention policy include: limiting the number of people eating in restaurants to a group of two; requiring work places to work from home; temporarily arranging some elementary school students to study at home; controlling the number of passengers in public transportation such as taxis.

An important reason for the sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases in a single day in Singapore is that many clusters of infections have occurred in schools and office buildings.

Slightly embarrassing is that Pfizer’s Asia Pacific branch is located in Singapore, and a large-scale cluster of infections also occurred in the company, which was included in the active monitoring list by the Singapore Ministry of Health. According to the latest data updated by the Ministry of Health of Singapore on the 25th, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in this transmission chain has reached 63, of which 36 are employees of Pfizer and 27 are family members.

However, the Ministry of Health of Singapore stated that the Pfizer branch where the infection occurred is not involved in the production of the COVID-19 vaccine, so there is no need to have any worries about the COVID-19 vaccine.

In response to the rapidly increasing number of cases, Singapore’s Minister of Health, Wang Yikang, said that the number of beds prepared by Singapore hospitals for COVID-19 patients has increased from 1,000 to about 1,600.

Wang Yikang also said that from October 4, two doses of COVID-19 vaccination have been completed for at least six months, and Singapore residents aged between 50 and 59 years old will receive text messages to start the third dose of COVID-19 vaccination in an orderly manner.

Today, Singapore’s vaccination rate is among the highest in the world, with a two-dose completion rate exceeding 80%. Previously, Wang Yikang stated that of the more than 8,000 cases that occurred from August 23 to September 17, “more than 98% had no symptoms or had mild symptoms”, and only 10 required treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU).

He said: “If local residents had not been vaccinated on a large scale before, there will undoubtedly be a large number of deaths now, and the health care system may have been overwhelmed. We can avoid this situation because of the vaccination coverage rate. It’s very high.”

“Coexistence with COVID-19” policy remains unchanged

Although the epidemic has reignited, the Singaporean government has not indicated that it will reconsider the policy of “coexisting with the COVID-19”. Wang Yikang told the Singapore media a few days ago that to gradually open up step by step and transition to a society coexisting with the COVID-19 is the right choice for the long-term interests of Singapore.

He pointed out that Singapore, as a small country and a global hub, must keep in touch with the world. The complete closure of the border will seriously affect the livelihoods of the people. However, he also said: “Although we have been opening up, we cannot open it all at once. We must always proceed step by step and cross the river by touching the stones.”

During the United Nations General Assembly, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian expressed similar views. He said that it is a difficult choice for Singapore to decide when and how to open its borders. “The first task is to continue to protect Singaporeans and ensure that our medical system is not overloaded. Only under these conditions can we be safe. , Carefully open up our borders.”

In response to the tightening of Singapore’s epidemic prevention measures, the latest poll shows that more than 70% of the interviewees believe this is necessary, and nearly 20% said they have become numb. Singaporean public health experts believe that it is not a long-term solution to control the growth of cases by relying on safety management measures. The public and the government need to accept the facts and transition from a zero-clearing strategy to focusing on protecting vulnerable groups and medical resources. This is a targeted strategy.

In fact, this is not the first time that Singapore’s anti-epidemic policy has been adjusted. Singapore has already planned to implement a policy of coexistence with the COVID-19 virus since June. But since then, due to the “Delta” mutant strain raging in Southeast Asia, Singapore had to tighten epidemic prevention measures.

Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry Yan Jinyong said that Singapore is still on the right track and this is just a “roadblock” to the ultimate goal.

(source:internet, reference only)

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