SINGAPORE — Singapore has come full circle since its first Covid-19 case surfaced in January 2020, from a lockdown, shuttered borders, ever-changing permitted group sizes, mass vaccination programme, to a mask-lite existence in recent days.
Along the way, its efforts at battling the unprecedented pandemic has also won international plaudits.— which considers factors ranging from Covid-19 case numbers to freedom of movement — knocking out New Zealand which had ruled the chart for months.
Infectious disease expert Leo Yee Sin, who has been at the forefront of Singapore's Covid-19 battle, told TODAY: “Barring unexpected surprises by the rapidly evolving Sars-CoV-2 virus, Singapore has reached a significant milestone of ‘normalcy’ with remarkable achievement.” “You can compare outcomes to other countries that did well in containment in the first year, like Thailand: They managed to contain the pandemic until the middle of 2021, when Delta took off, but was months behind Singapore in vaccination, and thus had many more deaths during that Delta wave,” said Prof Cook.The first shipment of Covid-19 vaccine arrives in Singapore on Dec 21, 2020.
Dr Paul Tambyah, president of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, said Singapore generated key scientific data, including the first study to conclusively show pre-symptomatic transmission of the coronavirus, as well as the benefits of vaccinating children. Prof Fisher said a critical aspect of Singapore’s response was community engagement — the authorities strategically communicated with residents through a variety of media and spokespeople, from the Prime Minister to the MTF, relatable cultural leaders and television personalities. Academics also regularly gave commentary.
Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, vice-dean of Global Health at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said this happened during the Omicron wave in February 2022, where instructions for infected individuals and their close contacts grew so confusing that most people, including healthcare workers, were unable to understand or cope.Experts said that the MTF had undoubtedly played a massive role in guiding the public and communicating the rationale behind certain Covid-19 measures.
Dr Tambyah said that frequent changes in policies such as the two person, five person, eight person group sizes rules were also confusing and demoralising. “If you look at the fraction of the total population in the dorms and general public to be diagnosed as infected, we kept pace with the United States over the first six months of 2020 — that’s how bad it was," he said.
“This was unfortunately predicted by scientists in March 2020 and by migrant worker NGOs some time ago," he said.
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