Since the Ministry of Health (MOH) started disclosing unlinked cases in their daily Covid-19 reports, Singapore residents have been using the numbers to gauge the gravity of the situation we’re in.
However, from 8 Sep, MOH will stop reporting these figures as they’re apparently less relevant to Singapore’s plans of transitioning to a Covid-19 resilient nation.
Moving forward, MOH will also be issuing 1 Covid-19 update daily instead of 2.
Citing an MOH statement, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that unlinked case figures will be omitted from the health ministry’s daily Covid-19 reports.
Explaining the decision, MOH explained that unlinked cases are no longer relevant in light of Singapore’s plans to live with Covid-19.
They will also stop providing extensive updates on our vaccination programme as the numbers are apparently plateauing.
Instead, MOH will be revamping its report to highlight salient issues our nation is facing.
These include Covid-19 patients with severe infections and those in the intensive care units (ICUs).
Additionally, MOH will provide more details on large, emerging clusters so the public can avoid these places or adjust their activities accordingly.
On Thursday (9 Sep) evening, Temasek CEO and wife of PM Lee, Ho Ching, shared her thoughts on the removal of such figures.
In her view, Singapore hasn’t reached a stage where the numbers have become irrelevant.
In a subsequent post, Mdm Ho said members of the public should make better sense of MOH’s graphs. She drew attention to how our unlinked case numbers could be a lead indicator to the number of patients down with severe infections.
Though many Singaporeans were taken aback by the omission, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had hinted at the change during a press conference last Friday (3 Sep).
Mr Ong had apparently said that MOH is no longer “chasing down every single case”. Hence, the number of unlinked cases has become less relevant.
He also informed the public about our stagnating vaccination rates and why there’s no longer a need for detailed graphs on the subject.
The decision to remove our daily unlinked case figures will certainly be contraversial.
While the authorities decide on how and if they should address such concerns, our approach towards the Covid-19 pandemic remains unchanged.
High vaccination rates aside, we must all remain vigilant and do our part to prevent transmissions in the community.
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Featured image by MS News.
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