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SINGAPORE: Framing the decision to impose COVID-19 closures versus reopening economies as a choice between public health and the economy is a “false” dichotomy, the director-general of the World Organization of Health (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“That is a bogus choice,” Dr. Tedros said in a prerecorded message played in the latest installment of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Singapore COVID-19 Updates webinars. “WHO urges countries to focus on four essential priorities.”
The first priority is to avoid the amplification of large-scale events, such as stadiums and nightclubs, which have seen “explosive blasts”; and the second is to protect the vulnerable, save lives and reduce the burden on the health system.
READ: One in 7 reported COVID-19 infections is among healthcare workers: WHO
Third, communities need to be educated about physical distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, and the use of masks to stop transmission; and finally, search, isolate, test and attend to cases, as well as track and quarantine your contacts.
“There are already many examples of countries that have effectively prevented or controlled their outbreaks by doing these four things and doing it right,” he said, citing New Zealand, Iceland, Senegal, Mongolia and Singapore as examples.
“The common theme in all these countries is the commitment to national unity and global solidarity.”
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He also said that more than 170 countries have joined a global plan to distribute vaccines fairly around the world, and that WHO’s top priority for a vaccine is safety. The deadline to join the program, known as COVAX, is Friday.
“The first vaccine approved may not be the best. The more shots at goal we have, the better the chances of having a very safe and very effective vaccine,” said Dr. Tedros.
“We already face challenges with vaccine acceptance for many tested vaccines. We cannot risk having an effective vaccine for COVID-19 that people reject due to the perception that it is not safe,” he added.
“But the greatest test we now face is not scientific or technical. It is a test of character: Can countries come together in solidarity to share the fruits of research, or will misguided nationalism reinforce the inequalities and injustices that have plagued our world? “
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Warning that COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic, Dr. Tedros said the world must be ready when the next outbreak arrives.
“It has never been more clear that health is a political and economic option. In the last 20 years, countries have invested a lot in preparing for terrorist attacks, but relatively little in preparing for the attack of a virus that, as the pandemic, it can be much more deadly, damaging and costly, “he said.
Dr. Tedros’s message opened the webinar where 16 public health experts from Singapore and around the world spoke, either live on Zoom or on recorded video.
READ: Singapore’s daily COVID-19 cases drop to six-month low with 18 new infections
Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) Director of Medical Services Kenneth Mak gave an overview of the COVID-19 situation in Singapore, and explained some of the lessons learned from the country’s fight against coronavirus.
Having government agencies working together to lead a “nationwide” effort has been an important factor, while traditional principles of infection cluster management, contact tracing and isolation have proven effective, he said.
He stressed that while Singapore has reported more than 57,000 cases of COVID-19, and that currently only about 40 people remain in the hospital. Approximately 490 people with mild symptoms are housed in community care facilities.
“We also added an acknowledgment of patients who are vulnerable and at high risk for … adverse outcomes,” he said, adding that those at higher risk for serious complications were identified for closer follow-up and treatment.
“By protecting those who are vulnerable, we have managed to keep morbidity and complication rates low here in Singapore.”
Other experts who spoke at the webinar hosted by the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine were the dean of the school, Professor Chong Yap Seng, Professor David Heymann of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Mr. Patrick Drury, director of the WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.
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