Covid-19 crisis Are imported cases worrisome?

You may read in the MOH report that there were 5 imported cases a day. This may seem a high number, compared to the infected cases that are detected in the community (i.e. outside the worker dormitories) every day.

Do not be misled into thinking that the visitors have a high rate of infection, compared to the local population.

Currently, about 1,000 people arrive into Singapore every day. Every arriving person is tested. The imported cases therefore represent 0.5% of the arrivals.

If we carry out a random test of the people in Singapore, we are likely to find more than 0.5% infected.

If the rate of infection among the incoming visitors is lower than the local population, the current practice of closing the border seemed to be illogical.

It is also harmful to the tourist trade, the economy and the business sentiment.

I hope that the people in the ministerial task force pay attention to this point. Maybe, it is a bad decision to close the border and cause so much harm to the economic and to the livelihood of hundred of thousand people who are badly affected.

It is also a waste of the 95 billion that has been spent on relief measures on the circuit breaker.

What do you say?

Tan Kin Lian

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