As Singapore suspends reopening, experts suggest ‘bolder’ COVID-19 strategy

SINGAPORE, Sept. 9 (Reuters) – Singapore steps up COVID-19 testing, warned it would not rule out reimposing tougher restrictions as infections rise – some experts say brewing vaccine precursor overly cautious to live with the virus as an endemic disease.

Strict surveillance and quarantine have been key to its success in tackling the pandemic, but Singapore has reported a sharp increase in the number of cases to year-long highs this week.

Frightened by the rapid pace of transmission, the government said it would delay reopening measures and urged people to cut back on social activities, sparking debate among experts on whether Singapore could “be bolder. “since it has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.

“There will necessarily have to be trial and error, but I personally believe that Singapore’s vaccination rate now allows us to be more daring to move forward,” said Ooi Eng Eong, infectious disease expert at the Duke-NUS Medical School.

Some experts even question the need for rigorous testing in a country where 81% of 5.7 million people are fully vaccinated and many of the new positive cases are asymptomatic.

With so many people vaccinated, “it’s not clear that we need to know the infection status of asymptomatic contacts,” said Alex Cook, infectious disease modeling expert at the National University of Singapore (NUS) .

Singapore has made routine testing mandatory for workers in other ‘high-risk’ settings, started distributing rapid antigen test kits to households, and urged everyone to self-test even if they are. ‘he is fully vaccinated.

The country recorded 347 new local cases on Wednesday, nearly triple the infections from two weeks ago. It has reported 56 deaths to date and only six people are in intensive care.

NO MORE BORDERS A LAST REMEDY

With infections doubling every week due to the highly contagious Delta variant, the government is predicting up to 2,000 daily cases in a month based on the current trajectory.

However, over 90% of new cases are either asymptomatic or with very mild symptoms.

Singapore’s approach contrasts with other vaccination pioneers such as Israel, the United States and England who relaxed restrictions as they vaccinated a large part of their population and suffered an increase in the number of cases. and hospitalizations.

“We know from the experience of other countries that when the cases increase so sharply, there will be many more cases of intensive care and also people succumbing to the virus,” said Lawrence Wong, finance minister of Singapore and co-chair of its coronavirus task force. .

Although more restrictions are the last resort, he warned the government may not have a choice if severe cases rise sharply.

The government has said it can open up to 1,000 intensive care beds for patients with COVID-19.

The health ministry said on Wednesday it was revamping its daily COVID-19 reports to closely monitor serious illnesses and stop providing data on linked and unrelated cases.

COVID-19 MEASURES

To slow transmission, Singapore is testing, tracing and closing cases even more aggressively.

The government has asked companies to put in place a “14-day instant work-from-home regime” in the event of a positive case.

He hospitalizes many patients as a precaution, even if they have no symptoms or mild symptoms.

Those who are clinically good but still positive are isolated in institutions. The government has previously said it plans to pilot home isolation for those fully vaccinated.

However, NUS’s Cook pointed out that the isolation of cases, especially in institutions, is not in line with the stated intention to go into an endemic condition like dengue or influenza.

“Despite vaccination coverage of over 80% (…) and a very low number of severe cases as a result, (Singaporeans) are now being told that they must again revert to more restrictions,” he said. he declares. “There is a risk that such ambiguity could affect adherence to the guidelines in the future.”

Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Additional reports from Chen Lin; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Himani Sarkar

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