On 21 Mar 2020, Singapore reported its first two Covid-19 deaths.
Now, less than a month later, Singapore already has 9 Covid-19 deaths.
And according to Singapore’s National Centre of Infectious Diseases (NCID), more will come if we don’t follow the rules.
People in Singapore Still Disregarding Safe Distancing Measures
The Circuit Breaker (CB) measures might’ve kicked in on 7 Apr but there are many who still thinks they’re too cool to follow them.
Groups of people were spotted going out to cycle in big groups, stubbornly sitting down to eat in despite being told to leave and sneaking into closed facilities for a game of tennis.
A female attendant at a gas station was even slapped in the face when she reminded a customer to put on a face mask when entering the store.
On 13 Apr 2020, NCID’s clinical director Shawn Vasoo warns that if people in Singapore refused to follow the elevated safe distancing measures put into place, more will die from the virus.
People, he says, are not taking the pandemic seriously enough.
“The attitude of some members of the public is lackadaisical. More people are going to die and unfortunately, this includes more Singaporeans too if they do not adhere to the circuit breaker.”
And that’s a problem because…
Covid-19 Is Exceptionally Hard To Tackle
NCID executive director Leo Yee Sin said that Covid-19 is a challenge to handle.
She lists down three factors to explain her words:
1. Covid-19 shows up as an illness with very mild symptoms
According to her, the coronavirus doesn’t show up as a serious illness. This means that some people might dismiss it as a simple cough and continue with their daily activities, spreading the virus unknowingly.
2. People Who Don’t Show Symptoms Can Still Transmit The Virus
Previously, it was thought that asymptomatic cases (people with the virus but shows no symptoms) have little risk when it comes to spreading the virus since they don’t cough or sneeze.
But new findings showed that Covid-19, right at the start, is highly contagious even if the person shows no symptoms.
Such cases are hard for the authorities (and carriers) to detect and could cause the infection rate in Singapore to go out of control.
3. The Covid-19 Virus is New
This means that every individual in Singapore is susceptible to the virus since there’s no herd immunity yet.
“Anyone of us can be infected and, if we are not careful, can serve as a transmitter passing on the virus to others. When that happens, those most at risk are the people close to us, such as family members, colleagues and close friends.”
Even though it can be built up via asymptomatic cases, Dr Leong Hoe Nam, another infectious disease specialist in Singapore, said that it’ll take “two to three years” for the process to complete.
Did you notice something interesting about the three factors mentioned?
The first two factors are things that can be resolved as long as people in Singapore take the pandemic seriously.
Number one can be resolved by people going to see the doctor immediately the moment they coughed. Basically, to be paranoid lah.
And number two can be stamped out within 6 weeks of CB time if everyone chooses to stay at home diligently.
Authorities Now Going All-Out To Enforce Elevated Safe Distancing
The authorities have warned time and time again that if people in Singapore do not listen, they’ll take even more drastic measures against rulebreakers.
From warnings, they are now directly issuing compositional fines of $300 to people.
Stadiums are closed to everybody after groups were spotted still going in to exercise.
And movement control, they warned, could be next.
Stay home as much as possible and wear a mask whenever you go out for essential reasons.
Also, learn how to use a reusable mask properly.
