10/24/2021

COVID-19 Singapore: Why Is The Healthcare System Still So Unprepared For A Major Health Crisis?



“At the current situation, we face considerable risk of the healthcare system being overwhelmed,” said Lawrence Wong, Co-chair of the Multi-Ministry COVID-19 Task Force.

MOH reported last month that about 100,000 people aged 60 and above were yet to be vaccinated.

About 100 of them are being infected each day. The numbers may seem small but with a health system limited in size, this is a big number.

Shockingly and surprisingly, for such a rich and advanced country, Singapore has only 200 ICU places!

Despite more than a year and half have past, the government has done nothing to expand the Hospitals ICU capacity and capability?

Moreover, Singapore has only about 1650 isolation beds and this limitation has also not been expanded.

There was a new daily high of 18 deaths in Singapore on Wednesday - as well as a near record 3862 new cases - and the unvaccinated elderly accounted for more than two-thirds of patients who had passed away from the virus or were in the ICU, Health Minister and fellow taskforce co-chair Ong Ye Kung said.

The fact is that out of the 100,000 seniors not vaccinated, the total number of recent deaths do not even account for 1% of 100,000. Moreover, those seniors who succumbed were those who have underlying medical conditions.

So, the focus on the unvaccinated seniors is a frivolous pursuit. All the energy, attention and focus, and propaganda and coercion, to get the unvaccinated seniors to go for vaccination, despite continuing to insist that Vaccination Is VOLUNTARY, could be better spent on how to improve the hospitals capacity and capability in taking care, treating and helping the seniors to recover and get well.

Every life is important. Every life is precious. No matter it's an infant or a 100-year-old person, every life deserves equal medical attention and treatment. Every life deserves to be saved, as far as possible.

The most ruthless, cruel and inhuman is to let the oldies die prematurely as a result of one's personal or national economic agendas.


LIPS.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Blood is on their hands.

The untimely and premature deads will manifest as cancerous cells in the karmic bodies of those who murdered them indirectly or directly. Few years later, those karmic bodies will develop malignant cancer and they will in turn suffer and die.

Anonymous said...

What had the previous two Health Ministers been doing?

In early 2020, when COVID-19 was spreading in Singapore, the government said Singapore is well-prepared and ready to tackle COVID-19 Pandemic because we had the experience of the SAR Epidemic and we have learnt the lessons.

Then why the ICU beds still maintain at 200. Why not expanded to 2000? Or 5000?
Why the miserly 200 beds only!?

Anonymous said...


"In early 2020, when COVID-19 was spreading in Singapore, the government said Singapore is well-prepared and ready to tackle COVID-19 Pandemic because we had the experience of the SAR Epidemic and we have learnt the lessons."

Don't blame PAP, blame the virus because virus didn't follow the script, and is very naughty, rebellious and playful and not subject to Rule By law.

In wartime, don't blame PAP for Singapore collapse because the enemies didn't follow the script, and the enemies are very smart, experienced and cunning because of real world war experience.


KNN said...

KNNCCB!

For the PAP LEEDERS, anything and everything can cockup, never mind. But their $millions salary must not cockup.

They are very safe, hiding in the ivory towers with security guards and personal body guards to protect them ftom the Covid-19 viruses. They don't have to worry about no money to put food on the table.

We, on the other hand, at the other end, are subject to the onslaught of the daily imported Delta Variants Infections and very difficult to earn a living. Our businesses have to either totally closed down or cannot make enough money to even pay rent and salaries. We have to worry every single day.

They, suka suka, come out and make a few motherhood statements and tell us to be safe and work together with them.

They are so safe. We are so exposed everyday by the virus. They do not have money problems. We have plenty of money problems. They are so high up. We are so low below. They are so comfortable, being served and protected. We are so uncomfortable, serving others and unprotected. How to work with them? You tell me lah?

KNNCCB!

Anonymous said...

" How to work with them? You tell me lah?"

hmmm, you already work with them indirectly even if you are not aware. You are paying for their salary everyday (these miniclowns are government people, and so are paid by taxpayer, citizens) , like other lesser mortal, even if you are suffering. So you are paying them to mock and insult you essentially.

Anonymous said...

That's not called work with them. That's called got robbed in broad daylight in the gangland territory.

Anonymous said...

Mankind will not be destroyed by the nuclear bomb but by the the viruses created by evil and selfish man-unkind who aimed to reduce world population from 8 billion to 500 million.

This group of people are the super filthy rich monsters together with the giant technology and social social media companies, big Pharmas and the US military industrial complex, and a group of secret societies where many of their members are controlling the US government.

A-Non-Yes-Mouse said...

Another big blunder, which should never have happened, has been quickly brushed aside as just a simple error again.

The last time it was a nurse who was given an overdose of six times the Pfizer vaccine required for one dose.

This time it is 111 patients and 6 staff were given an under-dose of only 10% of the vaccine required for a single shot.

Of course, people are quick to come out with excuses. It's because of that, this happens. It's because of this, that happens.

Wait a minute. You are playing with people's lives. You cannot afford to make such stupid error!

Isn't there such a thing called SOP? Standard Operating Procedures that are supposed to be followed like a robot without fail. But they have obviously failed to pay heed to those SOPs.
So, how can this be just an error? This is not even a careless mistake. This is a BIG BLUNDER! Period.

Anonymous said...

Why are there 2 different numbers for the ICU?

Why are there 2 different numbers for the ICU?

Because we are kiasu, says Mdm Ho Ching.

In many countries, covid cases are hospitalised only after they are very seriously sick.

Here in Singapore, we admit large number of them to hospitals just to observe them and see who may become seriously sick.

And we have 2 ICU numbers because we preemptively admit those who we think may need critical care so that they can be closely monitored in case they deteriorate suddenly and need to be intubated fast. These are the ones whose oxygen needs are already very high and may need mechanical assistance in breathing.

In other words they are put in ICU out of precaution.

"Mechanical assistance means putting a tube down the windpipe, and carefully directed either using ultrasound machine or a stethoscope to make sure it is going to the lungs. This process is called intubation," Mdm Ho Ching said.

Those who are intubated are the critically ill.

"These folks essentially die within minutes from lack of oxygen if they are not out on mechanical or electromechanical ventilator support.

There are the milder ones, where there is no intubation needed, but the patient wears a sealed face mask so that oxygenated air is delivered at higher pressure."

"So the 2 numbers added together give a sense of the ICU beds used up for Covid care.

The critical illness number shows the number who are in real critical condition, while the ones for close monitoring may potentially become critical over the next few days," said Mdm Ho Ching

Anonymous said...

Well done!

94% of our eligible population from 12 years and older have been vaccinated.
Do you know?

The infected folks among the unvaccinated 6% are drivers for 60% of our ICU cases.

This is totally disproportionate.

True, this means that the infected and critically ill folks among the 94% of vaccinated folks account for the balance of about 40% of the ICU cases.

But do you know these are mostly elderly folks with underlying conditions which put them at higher risk of serious covid illness?

With the booster shots for these as well as the immunocompromised folks, they should be even better protected, and the numbers of those infected and those needing oxygen/ICU will drop even more.

Anonymous said...

Reality On The Ground Is:

As a news report puts it, although it trails the US figure of 4.96 and Britain’s 1.92, “Singapore’s rolling seven-day average of 1.77 daily deaths per million people outstrips regional peers such as Japan with 0.14, South Korea with 0.28, and Australia with 0.58, the website Our World in Data shows.”


The daily case totals have not eased and were the cause for the latest extension of the Covid-19 measures for another month, subject to a mid-point review.

So, please don't bullshit. Experts or no experts, we can see through your veil of bullshitting very clearly.

Anonymous said...

Mahatma and lndira Gandhi were killed by their own aides. As such, no leader can guarantee that with personal protection, he, she and their family shall he free from danger.

Anonymous said...


It's so easy to be the Opposition in Singapore and win


It is easy to be the opposition in Singapore and I’m not kidding. Let me tell you why.

Take the Progressive Wage Model. It’s the brainchild of former minister and former secretary-general of NTUC, Lim Swee Say. Tripartite partners have been working hard since 2012 to implement the models for various sectors. The work continues.

But who remembers Lim Swee Say or give credit to him for improving the lives of low wage workers and giving them a wage ladder as well?

In fact, despite the model making such a difference to low wage workers, it had often come under criticisms, especially from opposition supporters just for the reason that its idea originated from the ruling party.

Then came Jamus Lim from Workers’ Party who declared in June this year in a Facebook post, that the model was along the lines that the WP has been fighting for. This was when a second update to the PWM was announced for the cleaning sector. And for good measure, he added the ‘make your vote count’ tag to his post. With just one Facebook post, he took credit for the Progressive Wage Model which he had earlier criticised in Parliament, describing union leaders pursuing it as having ‘folksy wisdom’ not borne out by science.

And of course adoring fans went, “Ya, thank you, Workers’ Party. Well done, WP. This is why we need more opposition!”.

And then we have PSP Leong Mun Wai taking credit for converations that were apparently started by him. We are to believe that before Leong appeared on the scene and made his speech in Parliament on CECA etc, no one give a dime about PMEs.

Unsurprisingly, fans cheered him as the champion of the Singaporean workers and they went, “Thank you, Sir. This is why we need more opposition.”

And yet, if Mr Leong is honest, he will not take credit for what he did not start. These conversations and engagement by NTUC started more than a year ago in August 2020, long before Leong made his speech in Parliament.

NTUC and Labour MPs had engaged with thousands of PMEs through dialogues, feedback and surveys to better understand their concerns and needs. A taskforce formed by NTUC and SNEF then worked together to look into these needs and concerns and out of the many meetings are the 9 recommendations they presented to the Manpower Ministry for considerations and adoption. These recommendations include better support for PMEs and measures to strengthen the Singaporean core and to help mature PMEs.

What does all these mean for the ruling PAP?

They will still work hard to serve the people to the best of their abilities, burn the midnight oil, lose sleep over the people’s future. Fear of mediocrity will be the impetus that drives them. But they will still be accused by opposition-loving supporters of being heartless and lazy, doing nothing but happily collecting their salaries and living it up, enjoying themselves every day.

They will do the good work but others will come and take the credit from them. The narrative is that every good policy is the result of the Opposition in Parliament and every unpopular policy is because there are not enough opposition members in Parliament. Either day, the PAP loses and the opposition wins.