Since Covid-19 struck Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has been providing members of the public with information on individuals who tested positive, such as their age, occupation, and nationality.
However, this is now a thing of the past, as MOH has introduced a new daily report format that omits personal details of Covid-19 patients in their daily updates.
Instead, their daily reports will focus on key trends, providing Singaporeans with a data-driven view of our local Covid-19 situation.
Citing a MOH statement, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that the change is occurring as Singapore moves into “a new phase of battling the pandemic”.
Moving forward, our focus on the pandemic will be 3-pronged:
Unlike previous press releases, MOH’s update on Thursday (29 Jun) was more succinct, owing to the following patient detail omissions:
Taking over their place are colorful graphs documenting the Covid-19 situation in Singapore. These include details on active clusters, vaccination progress, and the severity of Covid-19 patients’ illnesses.
One chart that’s particularly noteworthy supports the fact that the Covid-19 vaccine prevents severe illness arising from the coronavirus infection.
Though a summarised report may seem appealing, some netizens expressed disapproval over some of the omissions.
This Facebook user thought the list of places visited by patients while infectious would allow them to be more cautious when visiting those locations.
Another netizen expressed a completely different sentiment, saying that the previous format may have caused the public to overreact.
Regardless of the views, it seems like the new format is here to stay, and is an essential part of Singapore’s move towards treating the Covid-19 situation as endemic.
As vaccination rates increase, this allows Singapore to open up further, and with it comes a new set of challenges.
At a glance, providing data-driven graphs and figures would allow Singaporeans to view our local situation more objectively.
That said, do you agree with the omission of patients’ information? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image by MS News, for illustration purposes only.
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