9/26/2021

Covid19 - I think the hysteria about reopening Singapore, voiced by some, is really out of place.

 
🔴 There's no alternative at this point.

Last year was different - the whole world was looking for a solution and it was found in the vaccines. But, first of all, no vaccine offers complete immunity and, secondly, quickly mutating viruses are always going to pose challenges to vaccine development.

This is why, for example, we have new flu jabs every year, because new strains emerge all the time.

Given that there are no new, miracle solutions coming, that could somehow wipe the virus out completely, and that vast majority of the population in Singapore is vaccinated, the only thing to do is to return to normal life - albeit responsibly.
No country can be on lockdown forever and zero-Covid strategies are untenable, because the virus is transmitted very easily. Not even North Korea was able to keep it out.

A change in mindset is needed.

Over the past 18 months people have been conditioned to react to relatively high infection figures with fear. It was justified in 2020 but not today.

The figures that need to be tracked are deaths and ICU hospitalizations, signifying severity of the virus (both compared against the vaccination status of the patients too - as we know it's the unvaccinated who are the most affected at this point).

So far only 73 people died of COVID in Singapore. This is less than 100+ who die in traffic accidents every year or an average of about 800 who die of regular flu.

We also have to remember that many of the patients that passed away due to COVID would have likely fallen prey to influenza or other common viruses, due to their already weakened state. In international statistics, the novel coronavirus pretty much wiped out flu as a cause of death in countries around the world (even though, of course, it is also responsible for a large number of excess deaths - but not in Singapore).

In other words, so far the death toll of C19 for the year and a half since the outbreak started in SG is on par with an average MONTH of flu deaths in a regular year.

Of course both viruses are different and Covid may impact even younger, healthier people more severely. Nevertheless, we have to maintain a sense of proportion.

Even at this point Singapore is doing many times better than comparable developed countries attempting large scale reopening.

In terms of death toll it is orders of magnitude better than most countries, in fact. Western nations lost anywhere between 1500 to 3000 people for 1 million inhabitants. In Singapore that figure is just 12-13 - easily over 100 times less.

As for patients in ICU, it's currently ca. 4 per million inhabitants - compared to 70 in the US, around 30 in Israel, France or Switzerland, 20 in countries like Germany, Belgium or Canada.

🔴 Considering that during previous waves this figure peaked around the world at anywhere between 60 to 120, SG still has a long way to go before it can start getting worried.

Since all that could have been done, has been done, it's now time to return to normal - however responsible - life, instead of expecting new lockdowns that threaten thousands of livelihoods. 

Anonymous

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Life is supreme - that's what China's Zero-COVID approach is based on to reopening their economy - the Confucian filial respect and honour of parents.

Why should some old Singaporean people have to give up their lives early for the sake of thousand others' livelihoods, many of them foreigners here?

What is the social economic status of the old people who've died so far?

Why don't the Ministers here compare the salaries they are getting to what those in the West are getting, instead of just comparing the death statastics?

Anonymous said...

This is a once-in-a-century pandemic, not your usual yearly flu season. Extraordinary situations should elicit extraordinary expectations.

In such situations, busiiness people should expect their business to die, not expect other people to die for their business !

A-Non-Yes-Mouse said...

COVID-19: Change In Mindset Will Not Change Anything But Aggravates The Situation Further

1. Self-praise is no praise. Arguments that say only the "good" things about Singapore's COVID-19 situation, by comparing apples and oranges, in order to CONvince the public are one-sided and do not present the full picture of the whole Global COVID-19 Pandemic issue.

2. A detached view presented from a safe bubble, perhaps living in a very well insulated and protected ivory tower, guarded by body guards 24/7, where all ministers and top civilians live, will definitely see things from a different angle than the ground.

3. Making use of statistics to beg for logical rationale in favour of opening up for economic gains, is just that. Statistics. And we know that though statistics do not lie, most often than not people who use statistics usually do. They arrange, organise, manipulate, twist and present the data for the sole purpose of supporting their arguments that are made in order to CONvince you.

4. The one-size-fits-all, myopic focus and fixation upon the economy makes the people who proposed for the opening up of the economy (and thereby also allow the COVID-19 Pandemic a free reign to spread freely and widely) very dangerous people - an existential threat to mankind. No difference from people who propose the use of nuclear weapons to solve human conflicts.

5. Failure or avoiding to consider the wider and more serious implications, ramifications and consequences of opening up prematurely, such as the collapse of the healthcare system and the real costs of sufferings, life and death, is a careless, callous, ruthless and dangerous approach. This is like an ostrich approach that sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil. But actually waiting for evils to happen.

6. There is no hysteria but caution. Pointing out that there is a hysteria is not only exaggerated but also mischievous and unkind to the general public. Everyone wants to be very cautious when life and death matters are concerned. Nobody can deny that.


7. Last but not least:

A. The fact is that COVID-19 is NOT common flu.

B. The fact is that vaccines are not able to protect anyone from COVID-19 infections nor prevent the vaccinated from spreading the disease.

C. The fact is that the moment you let your guards down, you are opening up for more infections, more sufferings, more stoppages and lay-offs and more deaths, sorrows, agony and anger.

D. Humans have feelings and emotions. They are not digits or robots.


Conclusion:

Zero tolerance of infections and eradicating the COVID-19 Disease must be the primary and foremost task at hand. Otherwise, all the opening up exercises will continue to be exercises in futility, and if persist, will turn the country upside down into a journey of not return.


LIPS.

Anonymous said...

A total of 1,443 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore were reported on Saturday (Sept 25) ; 3 elderly people have died. 19 cases were imported.

Anonymous said...

The PAP 4G elites MTF have trampled on the human rights of the old folks who want to live longer.

Anonymous said...

There's an alternative to the current MTF doomed -to-fail endemic approach, and that's the very successful China zero-COVID approach as the Chinese leads the world in economic recovery!

Anonymous said...

Singapore had 13 deaths per million, which is low. However, to just compare that with Western Countries where human rights is considered more important, death is no big issue. The people in the West refused to wear mask, flouted or ignored safe distancing rules. If Singaporeans are allowed such laxity, do we really believe the death toll will be that low? And are we going to put all that effort to nought by reopening widely. That will be foolhardy not to be concerned.

The other point is the large number of foreigners competing for hospital beds against Singaporeans. What and if the situation deteriorates badly, who has more priority to be hospitalised? This is another area not to be concerned. Already the strain on the medical facilities are showing.

There are also many other countries that have a lover death rate per million population compared to Singapore. Available statistics shows that China had 3 deaths per million, Bhutan had about the same toll and so were many other African countries. There were even no deaths reported in Vatican City.

Anonymous said...

Gambling with public lives is the biggest gamble in the human history. Same as war.

Anonymous said...

China is a shining example for all to see in controlling the spread of this virus, almost zero infection inside China. If every country had taken heed and followed how China dealt with the virus, the pandemic would have been over.

But the stupid good for nothing millionaires only believed in white men and chose to follow the silly white men, using white men's half baked vaccines and quickly opening up. Now we are going to be as badly hit as the white men's country. The painful thing is that the stupid still refused to change track and stubbornly continuing down the path of death.

The explosion of cases now were likely due to the lax policy earlier of letting people from high risk countries to come in, bringing in the dangerous variants, spread in the community, undetected because of lack of mass testing.

Now we are reaping the shit from the earlier disastrous and irresponsible policy. Who to blame?

Anonymous said...

Not foreigners, likely new citizens from highly dangerous countries. Cannot turn away new citizens. What about PRs and EP holders from highly dangerous countries, also cannot turn away?

See when 5000 daily cases is reached and the morgues overflowing with bodies.

Anonymous said...

Singapore is full of form (bought by money) and lack of substance. These clowns say endemic and should be treated like flu to the whole world (kid you not, this is the very first country to haolian if you google using proxy just to be partial)

"https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/singapores-surprising-new-plan-to-live-with-covid-revealed/news-story/52fa2c29252daeb4a3c634e1658f6901"

Come on, these buggers just import corona virus all over the world like endemics, and then if kena, manage like pandemic with 10 days quarantine stay at home. How the hell this thing can work when at this rate , the chance of getting it is 80% evenually ?

And true to its form, it does not work, these buggers start acting blur and say don't know this , don't know that , and start managing like pandemic but still importing like endemic.

Hello, buggers, if flu, and cough, you can take 1 day mc but who the hell most companies allow 10 days at home ? You mean all companies so good like temask, gic which leeched on taxpayer money ? Don't tell me that Josephine Teo will say that company should be understanding and starting acting gullible, and full stop, case close ? They think company as business operate for loss not profit ?

These jokers are still managing like pandemic while pretending to be endemic, how else do you explain these lack of foresight, flip-flopping and prata-flipping. If you want to treat as endemic , stop all testing, all quarantine, all masking, which is why this is endemic. Pretending to be both endemic and pandemic as and when they like it is just usual way the government pretending Temasek and GIC to be private company while they are using public monies and cpf, and as and when they can be private , and can be government body.




Anonymous said...

Those aged 60 and above in Singapore are "strongly discouraged" from attending or supporting religious activities, even if they are vaccinated , said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY).

Acknowledging their strategy of vaccinating people to attain endemic living is not working?

Anonymous said...

Yep They tot it's an End Game for the coronavirus never did they know tat these viruses Never Day die nor wanna die another day, this make our senior got No Time to Die, vaccination to stop te virus is now a Mission Impossible with those Beans in charge.

Anonymous said...

Why need to dress up outside school as clowns???actually it has deeper meaning!
Why need to chopped up your school mate 8b school??? sg really Doon!

Anonymous said...

Why daily kpkb to vaccinate like going to be saved when vaccination does not work?

This vaccine is no better than injecting placebo. But the imbeciles still insisting people to be vaccinated and if not, get discriminated. Seow.

Anonymous said...

Why need to dress up outside school as clowns???actually it has deeper meaning! - paedophile ?