Here’s a quick look at the options facing Singapore so far:
- One, maintain CB measures until vaccines are ready.
- And two, do as many tests as possible to identify carriers and keep them away from other people.
And while there are countries who just can’t do it because of the cost involved, Singapore is ready to take this major step.
S’pore Going to Do Lots of Tests for COVID-19, a First in the World
On 30 Apr 2020, it was reported that Singapore is going to conduct mass testing on a large scale to find out the number of undiagnosed Covid-19 cases here.
New York has done a similar test on some 3,000 New Yorkers in supermarkets across the state and realised that 1 in 5 people once had Covid-19.
Singapore is now ready to do the same thing, except on a larger scale.
This is reportedly the first time a country is doing so in the entire world.
We Want To Find Out The Number Of People Who Are Infected But Showed No Symptoms
News of asymptomatic cases surfaced earlier this month where new studies in the US, China and Italy showed that up to 70% of Covid-19 patients showed little to no symptoms.
Even worse, the virus could possibly stay in their body for 28 days, instead of the 14-day incubation period touted by the WHO.
And Singapore is now prepared to find out exactly how many Covid-19 cases were undiagnosed in our population, and where the weak links are.
As for how they intend to do that?
They will be using serology tests which analyses a person’s antibodies to determine if someone has been infected.
If they had contracted Covid-19, their bodies would develop specific antibodies that counter the coronavirus.
New York recently did a similar study and found that 1 in 5 New Yorkers had contracted Covid-19.
Three Separate Studies Have Been Done
The National Centres For Infectious Diseases (NCID), which is heading the studies, have conducted three separate studies on three different groups:
- Healthcare workers
- Close contacts of Covid-19 patients
- The rest of the population including children
Preliminary results show that infection is highest among close contacts of patients.
The research of the study was conducted between February and April, and the scope of the study will be expanded in the next few months.
With the results, Singapore will be able to gauge the effectiveness of Covid-19 effectiveness over time.
Can Singapore Do It?
According to experts, we just might.
Testing is seen as a “crucial enabler” (an important factor) that will determine when CB measures slowly lifted.
And according to experts ST spoke to, it seems like Singapore’s in a good position to do mass testing.
At the start of Apr 2020, Singapore can only do 2,900 PCR tests a day. Now, at the end of the month, we can do 8,000 tests daily.
Authorities have already started getting in touch with companies here who have the ability to produce tests that can detect the Covid-19 virus.
They added that collaboration between small and large-scale companies are crucial now.
Some companies might have the know-how but lack the money to put that into action while others might be the opposite.
They also recommend that reagents for the tests as well as masks must be produced locally in preparation for the global shortage that will happen once other countries ramp up their testing as well.