Zero Covid-19 Cases In The Community Doesn’t Mean Complacency, Lawrence Wong Says
On Tuesday (13 Oct), Singapore saw no locally-transmitted Covid-19 cases for the 1st time in 7 months.
However, co-chair of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce Lawrence Wong urged Singaporeans on Facebook to keep their guard up, warning that the virus still spreads within the community.
And indeed he was right, as there were 2 new community cases today (14 Oct).
Regardless, he did acknowledge that we’re feeling Covid-19 fatigue from observing safe distancing measures since the ‘Circuit Breaker’.
No new Covid-19 cases in the community on 13 Oct
The outbreak within migrant worker dormitories in Mar caused case numbers to surge well into the 50,000s, and at last count, there were 57,889 cases.
It was only yesterday that new cases stopped emerging, at least for now. Today (14 Oct) also saw no cases within the dormitories, even as workers return to their workplaces.
Meanwhile, community cases remains at an average of below 1 over the past few weeks.
Mr Wong paid special thanks to the frontliners, as well as others who’ve helped to control the outbreak since it started, way back in late Jan.
Shout-outs to them indeed, for taking care of patients all this while.
Covid-19 fatigue exists, but community cases exist too: Lawrence Wong
Fatigue from following safe distancing measures exists, Mr Wong noted.
Because it’s been months since the ‘Circuit Breaker’, some are feeling fatigued from the rules which disallow gatherings of above 5, or other large-scale gatherings like concerts.
Bars and nightspots are also closed, and diners can’t drink alcohol past 10.30pm outdoors.
However, Mr Wong warned that Covid-19 still exists within the community, and there are cases which appear sometimes.
As such, he said we need to remain disciplined — only by doing so can we progressively reopen the economy safely.
Complacency can lead to new waves of cases
The fatigue that ensued from wide-scale lockdowns may have caused 2nd and 3rd waves of outbreaks in several other countries.
Our neighbours in Malaysia are still grappling with new outbreaks.
Singapore, thankfully, hasn’t had a 2nd wave of outbreaks. However, being complacent now may lead to a rise in cases again.
And that’s why we are still taking a cautious approach in reopening the economy. It’s painful, we’re all tired of wearing masks outdoors, but it’ll be worth it when Singapore is finally Covid-free.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
