Previously when we were having zero community cases but high trending imported cases, I have expressed concern of imported cases spreading to the community. Personally I think we have tightened the arrival measures a bit too late. However, better late than never and we should see community cases going down in the next week or so. In my view, in the early stage of the pandemic, strict measure such as CB was warranted because we don’t know a lot about the virus. At that time, fatality rate was also higher simply because the healthcare systems were overwhelmed. It seems that worldwide now we are coping with the virus better, with the help of vaccination, mask wearing, social distancing and attention to personal hygiene. A lot of cases are also asymptomatic and or without serious symptoms that requires long hospital/ICU stay. As a result, except a few countries where their healthcare system still unable to cope, we are seeing a big drop of fatality rate in the rest of the world.
Against the above backdrop, coupled with the detrimental long term effect that the various restrictions are severely impacting our economy, maybe it is time for us to accept that we can’t eradicate the virus completely and learn how to live with it. If the effects of contracting covid19 are asymptomatic, or mild symptoms like sore throat, slight fever, cold etc that don’t require hospitalisation, then we should regard it just like how we regard flu and other minor ailments that we have been experiencing day to day anyway. I am fearful that we are starting to ‘loosing the forest for the tree’. EU including UK as well as US are opening up now. China, Australia and New Zealand have the resources to keep their border close for foreseeable future. How about Singapore? Changi Airport as a hub is dying, SIA is dying, our infrastructure and home building are being delayed as well as many other economic activities. Conversely, Dubai, another air hub and our competitor, is thriving with its airline flying to many places. Long covid, at least with regard to long covid heart, has been dispelled as myth. We just need to know whether covid has other long term negative effects on recovered patients. I hope the answer is no and we really need to open up our economy sooner rather than later.
