Consistent daily Covid-19 numbers in the hundreds despite ‘Circuit Breaker’ may be a concern to many who live in Singapore.
However, experts are saying that this is a good and not a bad sign, as numbers have been stabilising each day.
They shared their insights in an article by The Straits Times (ST) today (7 May).
You see the daily reports every day — numbers well above 500 new cases, many in workers’ dormitories, and wonder when they will start falling significantly.
Just yesterday (6 May), Singapore recorded 788 Covid-19 cases, 11 of whom are locals or Permanent Residents (PRs).
But look past the digits and stop to think about the infection window and testing process — both of which take several days to show results.
You’ll realise that cases reported on a particular day may be individuals who were infected earlier but only tested positive the evening before daily reports are out.
This was what infectious diseases expert Dr Leong Hoe Nam told ST, noting how daily figures stay within the same range.
Despite the continued increase, Singapore has passed our peak and is now stabilising.
Nonetheless, it’ll take a while before these numbers could fall, as aggressive testing continues among Work Pass holders.
This is why the likelihood of our total tally hitting 40,000 this month is relatively high.
On a positive note, however, the consistently low community infections is a promising sign that we have things under control.
Just like how imported cases went down to zero and remained so since 27 Apr, we could hope for the same locally.
Numbers have fallen significantly since ‘Circuit Breaker’ started on 7 Apr, with some days even having only single digit reports.
Professor Paul Tambyah from NUS’ Medical School also told ST that the same measures in dorms may see cases there fall too.
Contact tracing, identifying and isolating suspect cases early will help achieve that.
All predictions aside, getting infections under control is still only possible with everyone’s cooperation.
Measures like safe distancing, compulsory mask-wearing, closures and movement restrictions are there for a reason — to protect us.
If all of us do our parts to keep infection risks low, seeing much lower daily case numbers may be a reality soon enough.
Till that happens, stay home and stay safe.
Featured image adapted from Yoricko.
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