Let's talk Singapore

[Arjy2000k]

So what's going on with Singapore?

 

Whilst it's neighbours all seem to have dealt with Covid very well - Thailand, Malaysia, and China. Singapore seems to be still struggling with this virus.

 

After a slight fall during lockdown cases are rising again. It's often reporting well over 300 cases a day, with a small population of 5.8 million they have one of the highest per 100,000 rates in the world. Granted they are probably testing more than the likes of Thailand, but it's still a crazy outbreak.

 

What is even more baffling though, is despite such a high infection rate, they've managed to keep mortality down to only 27 cases in total, which is a phenomonal achievement.

 

Thoughts ?

[orchis]

they have many immigrant workers living in huge dorms in rather poor conditions, this is where most spreading occurs.

[Brunolem]

1 minute ago, orchis said:

they have many immigrant workers living in huge dorms in rather poor conditions, this is where most spreading occurs.

Exactly.

 

The epidemic has been concentrated in these massive buildings, while Singaporeans themselves have had very few cases.

 

The immigrant workers being young and generally in good shape explains that most of the cases were mild, with very few fatalities.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, Brunolem said:

Exactly.

 

The epidemic has been concentrated in these massive buildings, while Singaporeans themselves have had very few cases.

 

The immigrant workers being young and generally in good shape explains that most of the cases were mild, with very few fatalities.

You are talking sense, which will IMO upset those that think it is a "killer plague" and want to force everyone to destroy the economy by lockdowns.

[geriatrickid]

Look at who is infected. Covid19 is a disease of the poor and those who live in the high density migrant worker facilities. 

[geriatrickid]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

You are talking sense, which will IMO upset those that think it is a "killer plague" and want to force everyone to destroy the economy by lockdowns.

You are off on a tangent to come up a justification for your political position. Singapore is able to  forcibly quarantine and to contain these infected migrant workers. They have no civil rights.

This is quite different than in the USA where the Americans circulate at will with many intentionally doing their utmost to spread the infection. Germany and Canada had their  extremists protesting  social distancing and mask wearing on the weekend. neither county can do what Singapore does when it comes to infected people.  Singapore is a city state and it is easier to quarantine areas. It can't be done in  the occident.

[Arjy2000k]

18 minutes ago, orchis said:

they have many immigrant workers living in huge dorms in rather poor conditions, this is where most spreading occurs.

 

Do these migrant workers not interact with the rest of the population? Do they not get on trains, public transport, go shopping or eat out?

 

What are Singapore doing about these huge dorm problems? Population density is also quite rough in Chinese cities, Hong Kong, etc

 

 

 

 

[Arjy2000k]

16 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

 

The immigrant workers being young and generally in good shape explains that most of the cases were mild, with very few fatalities.

 

Interesting comments regarding the workers being in good shape. However, surely they can still spread it the general population (who may not be as fit).

 

Keeping the mortality so low, despite huge infection numbers, is a remarkable achievement.

[cmarshall]

Singapore has done an exemplary job in managing Covid, but then the city-state of 5 million has two universities among the top ten of Asia.  So, we know they are smart.

 

Singapore's deaths per million is a mere 4.79.  Part of that success is that they took special care to protect residents of nursing homes who we know have the greatest risk.  They housed nursing home staff on the premises or in hotels to prevent them from catching the infection and spreading it to their elderly charges.  I am not aware of any other country that took that step although there were a few individual nursing homes in the US that housed their staff on premises.

 

Too bad they overlooked the foreign workers, but even so they have an admirable record.

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, Arjy2000k said:

 

Interesting comments regarding the workers being in good shape. However, surely they can still spread it the general population (who may not be as fit).

 

 

Needless to say that they were kept contained.

 

These buildings became something like cruise ships, kept at see while the passengers were treated.

[AndrewMciver]

Huge rise to 908 cases today. For a tiny population they are having one of the worst out breaks for 100,000 people currently in the world. 

 

Yet if you catch the corona in Singapore, you don't appear to die. 

 

 

[Arjy2000k]

On 8/3/2020 at 6:00 AM, Brunolem said:

Needless to say that they were kept contained.

 

These buildings became something like cruise ships, kept at see while the passengers were treated.

 

Not that well contained if they are having so many cases. Where are they contained and how many are there ?

 

[Brunolem]

8 hours ago, Arjy2000k said:

 

Not that well contained if they are having so many cases. Where are they contained and how many are there ?

 

Contained within the area where these buildings are, far out of the city.

 

I don't know many there are, but a lot...of buildings and immigrant workers...

 

[uhuh]

1 hour ago, Brunolem said:

 

I don't know many there are, but a lot...of buildings and immigrant workers...

 

About a million workers

[AndrewMciver]

19 hours ago, uhuh said:

About a million workers

 

So about 18% of the population?

 

That's not really much of a fringe group. 

[Heppinger]

On 8/6/2020 at 7:31 AM, AndrewMciver said:

Huge rise to 908 cases today. For a tiny population they are having one of the worst out breaks for 100,000 people currently in the world. 

 

Yet if you catch the corona in Singapore, you don't appear to die. 

 

 

Which corona virus are they catching?

[AndrewMciver]

19 minutes ago, Heppinger said:

Which corona virus are they catching?

 hmmmm

[Heppinger]

9 minutes ago, AndrewMciver said:

 hmmmm

It's not a trick question ????

[uhuh]

The foreign workers in Singapore are young, slim (they remit their money home to their families) and healthy (they were screened before being allowed to work in Singapore).

Not many of them die.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 8/8/2020 at 3:00 PM, Brunolem said:

Contained within the area where these buildings are, far out of the city.

 

I don't know many there are, but a lot...of buildings and immigrant workers...

 

Are you in Singapore? Last time I was there, in the 90s, there was no "far out of the city". All the jungle up by Nee Soon was gone under concrete and big buildings.

Perhaps you mean on a new reclamation that hasn't yet been built on.