Experts Say S’pore is on Track to Ease More Curbs This Week As Vaccination Rates Increase

By
Shawn Ambrose
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The last couple of months have been rather bumpy, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Everything’s fine, then it’s not, then it’s fine again, and then it’s not again. Our hearts can’t take such volatility.

But we now seem to be in a good place. (The keyword here is, seem.)

With a high vaccination rate and sufficient healthcare facilities for severely ill cases, we might just be able to relax even more restrictions.

Experts Say S’pore is on Track to Ease More Curbs This Week As Vaccination Rates Increase

Experts believe we’re on track to ease more curbs on 19 Aug, just as the authorities planned, for two main reasons:

  1. 75% of our population is fully vaccinated
  2. The number of new hospitalised cases, including severe ones, is falling

Since the COVID-19 situation appears to be stable, more restrictions will likely be relaxed by the authorities.

Some will surely please residents, such as increasing capacity limits and event sizes for worship services and in cinemas, cruises, and shopping malls, to name a few.

What likely won’t please residents is that 50% of those working from home will be able to return to the workplace.

Boss: Finally. Violently shouting in the office just isn’t the same without my workers.

Other measures, such as mask-wearing and border restrictions won’t be lifted anytime soon, however, as they’re our main lines of defence against transmission.

Will We Have Another Phase 2 (Heightened Annoyance)?

In the last three months, we’ve exited and returned to Phase 2 (HA), which is why some of us are reserved in our celebrations.

As Professor Dale Fisher, an infectious disease expert, told The Straits Times, the daily number of cases isn’t the number we should be looking at in this regard.

What will dictate whether we continue this roller coaster of tightening and relaxing COVID-19 restrictions is the number of severe cases.

When the number of severe cases – those who need intensive care or oxygen supplementation – increases, more people will succumb to the disease.

To prevent that from happening, the authorities will likely reimpose restrictions.

However, the vast majority of residents are fully vaccinated, with more scheduled to get their shot.

And since vaccinations help to prevent serious disease from COVID-19, the number of severe cases may, hopefully, remain low.

Our next concern, once more people are fully vaccinated, will be new variants that could potentially break through the defences of our current vaccines.

But let’s cross that bridge when we get to it.

For now, let’s envision a future where COVID-19 is nothing more than the seasonal flu, and where it doesn’t run and constantly ruins our lives.

Now that’s a future I can look forward to.

HPB Giving S$30 Vouchers to People Who Successfully Refer Unvaccinated Seniors Above 60YO for COVID-19 Vaccination

The quicker our vaccination numbers go up, the more restrictions we can ease, of course.

While 84% of the population aged 60 and above have been fully vaccinated, more than 115,000 seniors in this age group are yet to receive their shots.

This is why the Health Promotion Board (HPB) launched a new programme that will reward those who refer unvaccinated seniors aged 60 and above for COVID-19 vaccinations.

Under the “Let’s Get Our Seniors Vaccinated” programme, referrers will receive a S$30 e-voucher.

So, you know what to do.

Understand the importance of vaccination here:

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]