This is how the Singapore outbreak started. And there are lessons for us.
1. March: Things under control, by restricting entry into Singapore, testing , contact tracing etc. But no lockdown. Schools, offices, restaurants open. Masks recommended only for people who were ill
1. March: Things under control, by restricting entry into Singapore, testing , contact tracing etc. But no lockdown. Schools, offices, restaurants open. Masks recommended only for people who were ill
2. April: We have outbreaks in dorms. Dorms are where >150,000 migrant workers live. Crowded. People in the dorms go to shop at a superstore: Mustafa Centre. They pick up COVID from the store. Bring it to the dorms where it spreads. straitstimes.com/singapore/must… @choo_ek @NickKristof
3. We are only as strong as the weakest link. The weakest link in Singapore: the dorms. From there it spread.
In US, we dont have dorms like this. But equivalent here are poor people living in crowded places, nursing homes, prisons. Thats the weakest link. From there it spreads
In US, we dont have dorms like this. But equivalent here are poor people living in crowded places, nursing homes, prisons. Thats the weakest link. From there it spreads
4. What Singapore has done now that they have hundreds of new cases a day are measures we may not be able to make:
Dorms sealed off fully from local population
Free food & usual salaries paid to all migrant workers
Failure to wear mask in public: $300 fine; 2nd offense: Jail
Dorms sealed off fully from local population
Free food & usual salaries paid to all migrant workers
Failure to wear mask in public: $300 fine; 2nd offense: Jail
5. I keep thinking of the safest endgame and it keeps coming back to basics.
Lots of testing & Isolation
Meticulous contact tracing
Quarantine all contacts
Universal masking
Hand hygiene
Crush the curve
Hope remdesivir works (will know in 2 weeks?)
Hope for a vaccine soon
Lots of testing & Isolation
Meticulous contact tracing
Quarantine all contacts
Universal masking
Hand hygiene
Crush the curve
Hope remdesivir works (will know in 2 weeks?)
Hope for a vaccine soon
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