Singapore
By Jalelah Abu Baker 31 May 2021 06:00PM (Updated: 31 May 2021 06:20PM )
SINGAPORE: More than two weeks after Singapore entered a heightened alert phase to reduce the spread of COVID-19, things are “nudging” in the right direction, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday (May 31).
Singapore introduced tighter measures, effective May 16, including reducing the size of group gatherings from five people to two people and ceasing dining-in at food and beverage outlets. The measures are scheduled to last through Jun 13.
Mr Ong said during a multi-ministry task force press conference on Monday that the health ministry has been monitoring data since the new measures kicked in, and seen a drop in unlinked cases.
Dividing the past two weeks into half, he said that 182 cases were reported between May 17 and 23.
Of those, 57 per cent were linked cases who had already been quarantined, Mr Ong said. Another 21 per cent were also linked to previous cases, but not quarantined, said Mr Ong, citing the example of those who were detected through a special testing operation for people who visited the Jem/Westgate cluster. Twenty-two per cent were unlinked.
After the first week of tighter measures, the number of cases fell to 136 infections between May 24 and 30. The proportion of unlinked cases dropped to 18 per cent.
“Unlinked cases means they are quietly transmitting the virus in the community,” he said, adding that the fewer there are, the better.
“The more we can shift this number away to linked cases or better still, linked and quarantined cases, the lesser will be the spread of the disease, and the more we can bring the overall number down and suppress this wave of transmission,” he said.
An “encouraging sign” of how Singapore is handling the “current wave” of transmission is that close to 70 per cent of all linked new cases every day are due to household transmissions , he said.
“They are not due to dramatic movements or like parties or whatever but usually the movement patterns are quite mundane home work, (takeaway) food, grocery shopping, and so on,” he said.
He noted that other than the Jem/Westgate cluster, there were “no major transmission settings over the last 10 days”.
“All in all, we are nudging in the right direction, but just nudging and controlling the situation. We are constantly improving our contact tracing and quarantine protocols,” he said.
However, he cautioned that the wave of infection is “not over”, and stressed the need to stay alert and vigilant in order to suppress it further.
Singapore is also extensively rolling out more and different types of tests. In the second half of May, Singapore tested more than 76,500 individuals per day, said Mr Ong.
"We will continue to step up the number of tests," he said.
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Source: CNA/ja
Continue reading...
Singapore ‘nudging’ in right direction with drop in unlinked cases over past two weeks: Ong Ye Kung
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung speaking on May 31, 2021.By Jalelah Abu Baker 31 May 2021 06:00PM (Updated: 31 May 2021 06:20PM )
Share this content
Bookmark
SINGAPORE: More than two weeks after Singapore entered a heightened alert phase to reduce the spread of COVID-19, things are “nudging” in the right direction, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday (May 31).
Singapore introduced tighter measures, effective May 16, including reducing the size of group gatherings from five people to two people and ceasing dining-in at food and beverage outlets. The measures are scheduled to last through Jun 13.
Mr Ong said during a multi-ministry task force press conference on Monday that the health ministry has been monitoring data since the new measures kicked in, and seen a drop in unlinked cases.
READ: Singapore 'on track' to bring COVID-19 outbreak under control; curbs may be eased after Jun 13: PM Lee
Dividing the past two weeks into half, he said that 182 cases were reported between May 17 and 23.
Of those, 57 per cent were linked cases who had already been quarantined, Mr Ong said. Another 21 per cent were also linked to previous cases, but not quarantined, said Mr Ong, citing the example of those who were detected through a special testing operation for people who visited the Jem/Westgate cluster. Twenty-two per cent were unlinked.
After the first week of tighter measures, the number of cases fell to 136 infections between May 24 and 30. The proportion of unlinked cases dropped to 18 per cent.
“Unlinked cases means they are quietly transmitting the virus in the community,” he said, adding that the fewer there are, the better.
“The more we can shift this number away to linked cases or better still, linked and quarantined cases, the lesser will be the spread of the disease, and the more we can bring the overall number down and suppress this wave of transmission,” he said.
READ: 16 new COVID-19 community cases in Singapore, including 3 unlinked
An “encouraging sign” of how Singapore is handling the “current wave” of transmission is that close to 70 per cent of all linked new cases every day are due to household transmissions , he said.
“They are not due to dramatic movements or like parties or whatever but usually the movement patterns are quite mundane home work, (takeaway) food, grocery shopping, and so on,” he said.
He noted that other than the Jem/Westgate cluster, there were “no major transmission settings over the last 10 days”.
“All in all, we are nudging in the right direction, but just nudging and controlling the situation. We are constantly improving our contact tracing and quarantine protocols,” he said.
READ: Children aged 12 to 15 to receive Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Singapore
READ: People who want alternative COVID-19 vaccines can get them under special access route
However, he cautioned that the wave of infection is “not over”, and stressed the need to stay alert and vigilant in order to suppress it further.
Singapore is also extensively rolling out more and different types of tests. In the second half of May, Singapore tested more than 76,500 individuals per day, said Mr Ong.
"We will continue to step up the number of tests," he said.
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Source: CNA/ja
Continue reading...