PSP was right: PAP took its eyes off covid-19 situation

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Forum: Stay focused on Covid-19 situation here


On May 26, Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said that the number of daily confirmed Covid-19 cases in dormitories was likely to fall below 100 in three to four weeks' time (Daily Covid-19 cases in dorms likely to fall below 100 soon, May 27).

Six weeks later, there are still around 150 cases a day among migrant workers living in dormitories. Given the stringent measures that have been taken, why are there still so many infections being diagnosed daily?

The multi-ministry task force announced in May that Singapore intends to ramp up the number of tests done here to 40,000 a day. As of late last month, about 12,000 tests were being carried out daily.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said that by the end of this month, about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of foreign workers staying in dormitories in Singapore are expected to be cleared of the virus (Most migrant workers expected to be cleared of virus by end-July, June 26). Singapore owes it to these workers, who have experienced much inconvenience and fear, to complete testing as soon as possible.

The number of cases in the community has also gone up in recent days, which is concerning.

Singapore must not take its eye off the Covid-19 situation here, and the necessary measures must be reinforced.

Ng Wee Chew

https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/forum-stay-focused-on-covid-19-situation-here

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

COVID-19 SPECIAL
Daily Covid-19 cases in dorms likely to fall below 100 in three to four weeks' time

At the peak of the coronavirus outbreak on April 20, Singapore had a total of 1,426 new cases, of which 1,369 were migrant workers staying in dormitories. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
PUBLISHED MAY 27, 2020, 5:00 AM SGT

They will plunge in three to four weeks' time as measures have been broadly effective: Expert
Timothy Goh

The number of daily confirmed Covid-19 cases in dormitories is likely to fall below 100 in three to four weeks' time, Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said yesterday.

At the peak of the coronavirus outbreak on April 20, Singapore had a total of 1,426 new cases, of which 1,369 were migrant workers staying in dormitories. In contrast, yesterday saw 383 new cases, of which 381 were migrant workers staying in dormitories.

Prof Teo told The Straits Times that the drop was because measures to stem the spread of the virus in dormitories had been "broadly effective", pushing the basic reproduction number of the virus, or R0, to 0.5.

An R0 of one means each infected person will spread the disease to one other person every serial interval, which is the duration between successive cases of transmission.

Prof Teo said: "(An R0 of 0.5) means every five days or so, we'll halve the number of new reports... so if the measures in the dorms were indeed able to push down the R0 to 0.5, we'd expect the results to show up very clearly in about four weeks' time - about 28 days, or six serial intervals."
Yesterday, Singapore recorded its 14th day in a row when newly discharged Covid-19 cases outnumbered newly confirmed ones.

Prof Teo said this trend was not the result of a change in the criteria for discharge but because patients who had previously contributed to the surge in cases were now starting to recover as part of the natural progression of the disease.

Infectious diseases expert Leong Hoe Nam, who practises at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, said: "The high number of discharged cases comes from patients who were due to be discharged. Those diagnosed around a month ago should be getting discharged now."

As for the relatively lower number of confirmed cases, Dr Leong said: "Many of those who were recently diagnosed would likely have been infected around a month ago. By now, it would be the fourth week of their illness - the period of time when around half of all patients start testing negative as they stop shedding the virus. Hence, the number of confirmed cases would fall."

But infectious diseases expert Paul Tambyah from NUS' Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine said lower case numbers may also be a result of fewer tests being done recently.

For the past two days, the Health Ministry said it had done fewer tests. This is believed to be because of the recent public holiday.



Prof Tambyah added: "We (also) know that more community recovery facilities have been set up and this would allow for the safe discharge of patients out of the hospitals and community isolation facilities... Either way, the reduced numbers are probably a welcome relief for our stretched healthcare facilities."

Prof Teo said the number of confirmed cases seems set to fall back to February levels, barring any unfortunate events.

He said: "Until we know the serial prevalence - the percentage of people here who have been exposed to the virus and may have antibodies that may confer temporary immunity - our understanding is the vast majority are still likely to be susceptible. So we still have to be very careful in minimising infections in the community.

"If you and I are susceptible and don't play our part, we've a high chance of being infected."

 

[whoami]

But 61% say its alright. MIW did a good job. Even JB GRC sinkies agree.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Coronavirus pandemic
Most migrant workers expected to be cleared of coronavirus by end-July

A worker consulting a medical doctor at Homestay Lodge dormitory in Kaki Bukit earlier this month. National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of foreign workers staying in dormitories are expected to be cleared of the virus by the end of next month, and the authorities hope to test and clear the remaining 20 per cent in August.ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
PUBLISHED
JUN 26, 2020, 5:00 AM SGT

Toh Ting Wei

By the end of next month, about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of foreign workers staying in dormitories in Singapore are expected to be cleared of the virus, allowing them to resume work.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, in disclosing this at a virtual briefing yesterday, said these workers "would have either recovered or tested free of the virus".

"So we are controlling the infection in the community, and we are continuing to make progress to clear the migrant worker clusters and the dormitories, and allow the workers to resume work safely," said Mr Wong, who co-chairs a task force combating the Covid-19 outbreak in Singapore.

He added that the authorities hope to test and clear the remaining 20 per cent of workers of the virus in August.

There are 323,000 migrant workers living in dormitories here.

They account for more than 90 per cent of the 42,736 Covid-19 cases in Singapore.

Currently, about 120,000 workers have either tested negative for the virus or recovered as of Tuesday.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in an update yesterday that of the workers who are cleared of Covid-19, 80,000 can resume work, while the rest are waiting to be moved to appropriate accommodation before they start work.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Manpower said 79,000 migrant workers had been cleared of the virus as of Monday.

But only 17,000 of them can resume work as the rest have to fulfil conditions such as downloading the TraceTogether mobile app for contact tracing.

Another condition is that dormitory operators must have implemented safe living measures, and arranged with employers to pick up and drop off workers at worksites at staggered times.

MOH also said yesterday that the authorities are conducting up to 10,000 tests for migrant workers daily and these comprise individual swabs, pooled swabs and serological testing. It added that the inter-agency task force addressing the outbreaks in dormitories is looking to clear dormitories in the most efficient way possible.

"Dormitories are prioritised based on their readiness for testing, which depends on factors, including the prevalence of infection, length of time since the onset of infection and adherence to safe distancing," MOH said.

Work is under way to build more dormitories to reduce density at current accommodation facilities. About 60,000 bed spaces for migrant workers will be ready by the year end, with another 100,000 to be available in the next few years.

 

[A Singaporean]

On Aug 9, Singapore to celebrate the milestone of 50000.

 

[laksaboy]

Yeah whatever, Get ready for second wave, especially if you still keep the borders open.

 

[Valium]

Ask Josephine Teo that cunt.