Singapore forming road map to live with covid

[PicsInRed]

Singapore, one of the world's most successful covid respondents, is formulating a plan to live with covid and manage it as another seasonal illness once vaccination levels are sufficient. Most notable is the potential for a breath test, rather than "uncomfortable" swab testing, which would be a game changer for kids - and of course the removal of the dreaded isolation and no further reporting of daily cases. Hopefully this could be a road map for us also?

www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapore-drawing-up-road-map-live-with-covid-19-ministers-say-2021-06-24/

Testing will be less of a tool for ring-fencing and quarantining people, but will be used more to ensure that events, social activities and overseas trips can take place safely.

The ministers said people will be able to travel again at least to countries that have also controlled the virus, with testing and vaccinations removing the need for quarantines.

www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-coronavirus-singapores-surprising-new-plan-to-live-with-virus/EKXDOTWZYMUGFRRMF553CH2T5U/

A big change would be to no longer report daily case numbers. "Instead of monitoring Covid-19 infection numbers every day, we will focus on the outcomes: how many fall very sick, how many in the intensive care unit, how many need to be intubated for oxygen, and so on."

"This is like how we now monitor influenza."

The ministers wrote in the Straits Times this would be a way for Singapore to navigate its way out of Covid-19, resume major events and travel internationally

Testing would also have to be easier and quicker. Self-administered tests, such as breathalysers, should replace the uncomfortable throat swab method.

Great, hope this is our plan too.

If UK follows Singapore example then family separations (if family abroad) will continue to be the rule. I can't like that.

Unless you're an elite athlete... or member of G7. Then you can swan around between countries like crazy.

@Thewiseoneincognito

You only have to read some of the imbeciles on the Mask threads to see how this is a fantasy for the UK. We will never be in a position to do this simply because of of our individualistic tendencies. Singapore has had extremely hard restrictions to keep their cases so low. They have essentially cut themselves off from the world without any regard to the distress it’s caused many families just as NZ did. We have idiots who won’t wear a face mask for ten minutes in a shop who’ll then wonder why we’re back in restrictions come autumn.

Living with Covid in the UK is living with restrictions, living with Covid in Singapore is mass compliance and acknowledgment that it’s for the greater good.

Imagine thinking that masks make any sort of difference.

All cases even asymptomatic are isolated away from family - even children are taken away

This is nightmare fuel. Where do they take the children? Parents must be so heartsick if this happens to them, two weeks or so is a really long time in a government facility 😥

Thank god for this. It gives me hope that if there starts to be momentum from the zero Covid countries that Australia and NZ and similar might start to set out their own road maps to start to live with Covid and I may get to see my family again before 2023….

Having read a few articles on this and listened to their Prime Minster announcing the strategy I’m not so sure how they will manage once Delta truly takes hold there. They have a very small population of around 5.7 million and average very low daily cases of around 20-30 which compared to us is like a daily rate of around 5 - 600 cases. They have extremely small number of deaths for the whole pandemic.

It appears their government is priming the people to expect more deaths because they have to open up to the world, they’re doing it very gradually and stress it’s not going to be immediate. The main difference will be the people are compliant and behave very differently to us here in the UK, they’re planning to open up with similar restrictions to what we have now. It’s a bold step for them but I wouldn’t be shocked if they end up reversing course if the situation becomes uncontrollable.

Interestingly they’re calling it a roadmap to the new normal.

I find it creepy how Singaporans are described as "compliant".
Vibrant liberal democracy that is not.

Fantasy Island, OP. Ridiculous notion.

@lljkk

I find it creepy how Singaporans are described as "compliant". Vibrant liberal democracy that is not.

Culturally they are but that’s because they have an excellent education system which is considered one of the best in the world. I believe intelligence is more widespread there than here in the UK so that’s possibly a reason why they follow directives to keep everyone safe, they know it ultimately has benefits for all.

We could learn a thing or two from them. We probably won’t though 🙃

@Thewiseoneincognito

Having read a few articles on this and listened to their Prime Minster announcing the strategy I’m not so sure how they will manage once Delta truly takes hold there. They have a very small population of around 5.7 million and average very low daily cases of around 20-30 which compared to us is like a daily rate of around 5 - 600 cases. They have extremely small number of deaths for the whole pandemic.

It appears their government is priming the people to expect more deaths because they have to open up to the world, they’re doing it very gradually and stress it’s not going to be immediate. The main difference will be the people are compliant and behave very differently to us here in the UK, they’re planning to open up with similar restrictions to what we have now. It’s a bold step for them but I wouldn’t be shocked if they end up reversing course if the situation becomes uncontrollable.

Interestingly they’re calling it a roadmap to the new normal.

Everything the Singaporean govt does is well planned - this announcement was made to warn the reticent anti vaxxers that the country would not coddle them forever, the borders won’t remain shut forever . Ie, get the vaccine, because the world is moving on and you will have to bear the risk if you choose to not get vaccinated… I believe most countries are working towards the same end goal, vaccinate your population and run a yearly booster programme, then it’s back to business as normal.

Putting up with poor human rights and political repression is a sign of intelligence, Who knew?

Only the uneducated furriners were affected badly by covid, anyway, so that's alright then.

@Kisskiss business as usual is a delusion.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that cases are rising rapidly despite our vaccination efforts and that’s WITH social distancing measures in place.

In what reality does it make any sense that removing mitigation measures will help the situation in any way at all? We can’t live with it now never mind without safety measures in place.

@Thewiseoneincognito

You only have to read some of the imbeciles on the Mask threads to see how this is a fantasy for the UK. We will never be in a position to do this simply because of of our individualistic tendencies. Singapore has had extremely hard restrictions to keep their cases so low. They have essentially cut themselves off from the world without any regard to the distress it’s caused many families just as NZ did. We have idiots who won’t wear a face mask for ten minutes in a shop who’ll then wonder why we’re back in restrictions come autumn.

Living with Covid in the UK is living with restrictions, living with Covid in Singapore is mass compliance and acknowledgment that it’s for the greater good.

Singapore have controlled Covid but at what cost? Did you read @backatschool's post? Surely even you don't think quarantining children away from their parents is a good idea?

Before you jump on me I am obviously not saying the UK's way is right, it very clearly isn't, but I don't think forcing people to be apart from their families is right either.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat no I don’t agree with some of their measures but they’re also not North Korea.

@Thewiseoneincognito I didn't say or imply that they were! 🤷‍♀️

[quote Thewiseoneincognito]@Kisskiss business as usual is a delusion.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that cases are rising rapidly despite our vaccination efforts and that’s WITH social distancing measures in place.

In what reality does it make any sense that removing mitigation measures will help the situation in any way at all? We can’t live with it now never mind without safety measures in place.[/quote]
Cases are going up , but so far, hospitalisations are not . It might be because generally, hospitalisation rates tend to lag case detection, so we need to wait a few weeks to confirm this remains , but if we stay this way, this is the proof that vaccinations do the job - prevent serious illness ..
Btw, I think we should keep masks for a bit longer!

@PinkSparklyPussyCat it’s not nice to have children seperated from their parents , but I’m not sure it would be true as most infected children also had infected household members.. so they would all have been in hospital together..
Anyway singapore had in total 35 covid related deaths and a population of 5.7mm..
the UK unfortunately lost 128k people to covid out of 66.65mm… I know which outcome I would have preferred. Also, I have a lot if colleagues and friends who live in Singapore are frankly, their lives over 2020 seemed like a holiday in contrast to the rolling lockdowns we endured.. aside from mandatory mask wearing, people went to the office, kids attended schools, bars and restaurants were open.. you could socialise, albeit in smaller groups.

I would have preferred nz/auz/singapore than uk.
The stress with kids at school in uk has been unbelievable .
Lots of vulnerable family members.
Then letting all the kids now catch it.
Kids off school months on end.

But what are they doing about vaxxing kids?
I do think their deaths will increase.
Also here we have been forced into taking a vax with a risk of stroke.

It's easy to applaud draconian measures from a safe distance.

Singapore haven't announced a new roadmap ffs. They've announced that they're in the process of making one. It's like saying you've written a book when you've just started sketching out the chapters.

They've also stated that they're not ready to start implementing such a plan yet. Note, the UK started implementing THEIR version of this plan several months ago. As yet, we have no idea at what point Singapore WILL implement this "live with covid" plan, nor exactly what it would entail.

@NannyAndJohn

So case numbers will be censored by the government? A bit 1984.

I think the point here is that at the moment they only count cases and EVERYBODY is hospitalised. So by starting to allow people in thr future to recover at home if they are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic means we will start counting a more relevant number of "required" hospitalisations.

@PickAChew

Does anyone seriously believe that their plan includes letting us in for a holiday?

This is a really long way off! Sadly. I'd love to come home and see family. It's been 2 years now.

[quote Kisskiss]@PinkSparklyPussyCat it’s not nice to have children seperated from their parents , but I’m not sure it would be true as most infected children also had infected household members.. so they would all have been in hospital together..
Anyway singapore had in total 35 covid related deaths and a population of 5.7mm..
the UK unfortunately lost 128k people to covid out of 66.65mm… I know which outcome I would have preferred. Also, I have a lot if colleagues and friends who live in Singapore are frankly, their lives over 2020 seemed like a holiday in contrast to the rolling lockdowns we endured.. aside from mandatory mask wearing, people went to the office, kids attended schools, bars and restaurants were open.. you could socialise, albeit in smaller groups.[/quote]
So by chance I spoke to someone last night who knows a child who tested positive. Mum was negative (as was the rest of the family - all vaccinated) - Mum was allowed to go to hospital with the child. 10 days later Mum is positive but asymptomatic, child is on the mend, so they are now split up with child heading home and Mum is in a govt community facility. This was good to hear to be honest about Mum being able to choose to join her child in the first instance. As there are so few cases here, the actual details of how it all works logistically are kept very quiet.

Someone else asked where people are taken if you test positive. Everyone goes to hospital to begin with. If you are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic you are transferred after a few days to a govt community facility until 3 negative PCR tests.

As for it feeling like a holiday in 2020, I wouldn't quite go that far - but yes I think it was easier than the UK by a mile. More than anything no-one (within the expat community at least) is concerned about actually getting sick from Covid. Schools were open until May this year albeit with measures in place (masks at all times, small group sizes etc), and restaurants were open with a 10.30 curfew/seating required/distancing in place/bookings required. No bars though and most people didn't go to the office. Neither myself or DH have been to the office since March 2020. Borders shut completely. These measures were in place even when we had zero cases in the community. Honestly I can't imagine anyone in the UK putting up with that.

The hardest thing is not the small stuff - mask wearing etc everyone just gets on with it - it's the fact that as residents here if we leave, we cannot get back in. Home feels very far away and the island is half the size of Manchester. It's tiny. We are assuming we won't see family again for another year.

Also in Singapore. To be honest, this 'news' has barely registered amongst people I know as it seems so far away from the current situation. We have been trapped on this tiny island for so long, following the various rules diligently (there is no room for error) and I genuinely can't imagine this will change any time soon.
I met a friend yesterday who couldn't go out for an anniversary meal with her husband unless they sit at separate tables, as they have a newborn (groups of 2). My own children are so used to these strict rules that they panic about leaving the house. Are we in a group that's too big? Mask? Trace together token? Mustn't speak on the bus or someone might report you. Honestly, it seems so far fetched right now, I simply can't believe it will happen any time soon.

What Singapore might mean by living with covid seems like it will include an awful lot of testing - in other words, not what some people here seem to want, which is pretending it's 2019 and not paying any attention to whether an illness is covid or something else, basically just pretending it doesn't exist.