SINGAPORE - A fresh wave of Covid-19 infections is sweeping the globe, with several countries in the region, including Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines getting badly hit. Singapore has not been spared. In the fortnight till May 26, it has seen between 19 and 38 new community cases diagnosed each day - compared with the one to 16 cases a.
Singapore has not been spared.
In the fortnight till May 26, it has seen between 19 and 38 new community cases diagnosed each day - compared with the one to 16 cases a day in the previous fortnight - in spite of tighter safety measures.
To some, this evokes memories of the days leading up to the circuit breaker last year, when case numbers were rising.
But there are key differences. Singapore may be battling more infectious variants of the virus this time around, but it appears to have a firmer grip on the situation.
The number of new community cases is currently lower than the roughly 40-60 in early April last year, just before the circuit breaker was implemented.
SINGAPORE - The mode of Covid-19 transmission is a subject of intense debate after a 53-year-old cleaner who works at a stay-home notice facility was identified as a possible source of infection that led to the latest community cluster at Westgate and Jem malls in Jurong East.
Infectious diseases expert Paul Tambyah said the cleaner - if infected at her workplace - was unlikely to have direct contact with the stay-home notice visitors, so the virus would have somehow carried itself through the air or via a contaminated surface to get to the cleaner.
There are three main modes of transmission: airborne transmission - where people get infected over long distances by inhaling very fine respiratory droplets carried by the air and aerosolised particles; transmission through contact with droplets; and the touching of contaminated surfaces.
Recently, the approach was used in Tan Tock Seng Hospital with some success. - ST
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Ring-fencing strategies that aim to limit Covid-19 transmissions and contain their spread have been intensified recently, helping Singapore stave off a second circuit breaker for now.
Experts note that larger areas are now being closed off and more people made to undergo swab testing.
Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore s (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said that ring-fencing can help to flatten the curve of infections by preventing transmissions from spilling over to other sectors.