Covid-19 crisis Controlling the spread of the virus - Singapore's approach
The World Health Organization (WHO) praised Singapore for our efforts in dealing with the covid-19 virus.

They must be impressed with the effort that are being taken under Dorscon Orange to have temperature scanning, contact tracing and the home quarantine.

Here is a report.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/covid-19-praises-singapore-tremendous-080418750.html


There is no doubt that we have put in a lot of effort and serious attention to deal with this problem and that it has achieved remarkable success.

But before we get too carried away, I have to point out two factors that that make it easier for Singapore to carry out this kind of massive activity.

a) Unlike China, Japan and South Korea, which are now in the cold climate of winter, Singapore has a warm climate. I suspect that the spread of the covid-19 virus and its impact on the infected people, are considerably lower in Singapore.

b) Singapore is a very small country which makes it easier to organize and mobilize the containment effort. It would be more difficult to carry out this approach in a large country. However, I am also aware that in a confined and crowded place, the virus can spread more rapidly.

We must also be aware of the economic cost of the large scale activities taken under Dorscon Orange. Many people are involved in carrying out the work of temperature screening and contact recording.

It has caused a panic leading to frantic buying of face masks and food supplies and the hoarding of these items.

Many people are scared about the possible calamity that lie ahead. Economic activity has slowed down considerably. Many businesses are facing serious cash flow problems. Workers are likely to be retrenched.

Was it necessary for Singapore to react in this manner, and suffer the serious economic consequences? Is the health risk all that high to justify the price that is now being paid, following the implementation of Dorscon Orange?

I believe that we have over-reacted and quite unnecessarily. I also find the current way of carrying out temperate screening and contact recording to be quite wasteful and likely to be unproductive.

I believe that we can and should carry out the containment effort in a more effective way. I will explain my view in a separate statement.

In the meantime, I like to ask my fellow Singaporeans to think about this issue. Are we going about the right way to manage this crisis? Are we spending a lot of manpower in our current approach, and it may not really do much to control the spread of the virus?

Tan Kin Lian

 

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