Yesterday, the government raised the DORSCON level to Orange. And with that, thousands of Singaporeans started panic buying.
They went to Fairprice and wiped out all the daily essentials in store.
But what exactly is DORSCON Orange? Before we get into that, let’s understand this first:
DORSCON Level
In the event of an outbreak resulting in an infectious disease spreading worldwide, Singapore will implement prevention and response plans.
One of which is the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON).
This is a colour-coded framework that shows the current disease situation.
Along with a general overview of the situation, it also gives Singaporeans general guidelines on what they can do to prevent and reduce the impact of said infection.
The DORSCON level is affected by the following factors:
- The current disease situation overseas
- How transmissible the disease is
- How likely it is to arrive in Singapore
- What impact it may have on our community
The Four Different DORSCON Levels
There are four statuses in the DORSCON Level:
- Green
- Yellow
- Orange
- Red
With green being the least severe (mild disease / severe disease that doesn’t spread easily) and red (severe disease spreading widely), the most.
You can refer to the chart below for the various guidelines:
MERS was DORSCON Green. H1N1 was DORSCON Yellow.
Back in 2003 during SARS, the government also raised the DORSCON level to Orange. Which is possibly the reason why people are stocking up right now.
What DORSCON Orange Means:
Nature of Disease
The disease is severe and spreads easily between people. However, it’s being contained right now.
Impact on Daily Life
There will be moderate disruption like:
- Quarantine
- Temperature screening
- And visitor restrictions in hospitals.
Advice to Public:
- Be socially responsible, stay home if you’re sick.
- Maintain your personal hygiene.
- Keep a lookout for health advisories
- Comply with the control measures implemented
“No Need To Rush To Stock Up”
However, the government said that there is “no need to rush to stock up essential supplies”.
DORSCON Orange simply means they are adding additional measures to combat the coronavirus.
Measures include cancelling or postponing large-scale events and asking for employers to oversee the health conditions in the workplace.
You can read more here.
They assure that Singapore still has enough daily essentials for everybody. Rumours about Singapore running out is fake.
So don’t chiong for daily essentials at the market lah, or resell on Carousell for a huge profit or you might just be jailed like them.
You can check MOH’s website daily for more updates on the Wuhan coronavirus here.
