The Phase 2 (Heightened Alert)—a.k.a. Phase 1.5 or a.k.a. almost-Circuit Breaker—has confined us to our homes once again and has us glued to our screens, counting the number of cases daily.
And it seems like the situation is not getting any better, given yesterday (18 May)’s 27 community cases.
But Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, who also co-chairs the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force, has asserted that the recent measures will be effective in stemming the spread but its effects will only be seen later due to “time lags”.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that stringent regulations for dining, work and going out have been put in place. The task force has also given more updates yesterday (18 May) with regards to the nationwide vaccination programme.
During yesterday’s press conference, Mr Wong noted that the current community cases were very likely seeded only one to two weeks ago. In addition, the permeation of the B1617 variant from India meant that the virus could be passed from one individual to another more easily.
“We will continue to see many cases as we pick them up, even unlinked cases as we are seeing now, precisely because of how infectious and transmissible the new strains are,” he said.
Speaking about the surge in community cases, Mr Wong emphasised that the current situation has shown that all the “precautions we [were] used to… may not be sufficient to safeguard against the spread of the virus”, therefore prompting the need for “even more stringent measures”.
Even as the number of new community cases continues to remain much higher than usual, Mr Wong reassured that it is not due to the ineffectiveness of the new regulations.
“In fact, I have confidence that the latest measures that we have put in place to restrict interactions and movement will have an impact in bringing numbers down. But we will only see this materialising one to two weeks later, because of the time lag in these measures.”
The task force promises to monitor the situation very carefully and will consult public health experts, and make any necessary adjustments if needed.
While we leave the overall regulations and fining to the higher-ups, Singaporeans also need to do their part to tide over this agonising pandemic.
The health minister encouraged Singaporeans to take up the vaccine (now available for those between 40 and 44 years old) as soon as it is offered to them, to stay home as much as possible and to take even more precautions when heading out.
With the new variant that can be transmitted easier, the Ministry of Health (MOH) now recommends that the public use masks with good filtration capability. These would include reusable masks that are made of at least 2 layers of fabric, as well as surgical masks.
“I know this has been very difficult and disruptive for all of you, and I want to thank you for doing your part to curb the spread of the virus,” he said.
“So let’s hunker down, we keep our spirits up, continue to support each other and we can get through this bump together.”
Feature Image: YouTube (CNA)
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