Diamond standard

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addressed his nation last week. It’s best practice and worthy of global emulation. Here’s the transcript.

“My fellow Singaporeans, we’ve faced the new coronavirus situation for about two weeks now.

The ministerial task force advised by DPM Hinks Rika has been leading the government’s response to this outbreak. They’ve been dealing with new developments every day and holding regular press briefings to keep Singaporeans informed every step of the way.

Today, I want to speak to you directly to explain where we are and what may lie ahead.

We went through SARS 17 years ago so we’re much better prepared to deal with the new virus this time.

• Practically, we’ve stockpiled adequate supplies of masks and personal protective equipment, or PPE.

• We’ve expanded and upgraded our medical facilities, including the new National Center for Infectious Diseases.

• We have more advanced research capabilities to study the virus.

• We have more well trained doctors and nurses to deal with this situation.

• We’re psychologically better prepared. Singaporeans know what to expect and how to react.

• Most importantly, having overcome SARS once, we know that we can pull through this too.

The new corona virus is similar to SARS but with two important differences.

First, the new virus is more infectious than SARS. Therefore, it’s harder to stop it from spreading. Second, the new virus is much less dangerous than SARS.

About 10% of those who caught SARS died. With the new virus, outside of Hubei province, the mortality rate is so far only 0.2%.

In comparison, seasonal influenza has a death rate of 0.1%. So, in terms of mortality, the new virus is much closer to influenza than SARS.

But the situation’s still evolving. Every day brings new developments and we have to respond promptly and dynamically. So far, most of our cases have either been imported from China, or can be traced to imported cases.

When we discover them, we’ve isolated their patients, done contact tracing and quarantined their close contacts. This has contained the spread and helped stamp out several local clusters. But in the last few days, we’ve seen some cases which cannot be traced to the source of infection.

These worried us because it showed that the virus is probably already circulating in our own population. And this’s why we raised the DORSCON to Orange yesterday and are stepping up measures.

• We’re reducing mingling in schools.

• We’re tightening up access to our hospitals. We’re taking extra precautions at large public events.

• I’ve already postponed my Chinese New Year Istana garden party for grassroots leaders, which was to be held tomorrow.

We’ve raised DORSCON to “Orange” before. You may not even remember but this was in 2009 for the H1N1 swine flu. So there’s no reason to panic. We’re not locking down the city or confining everybody to stay at home. We have ample supplies. There’s no need to stock up with instant noodles or tinned food or toilet paper, as some people did yesterday.

Whatever the situation, we can each do our part.

1. Observe personal hygiene. Wash your hands often. Avoid touching your eyes or face unnecessarily.

2. Take your own temperature, twice daily; and if you’re not well,

3. Please avoid crowded places and see a doctor immediately.

These simple steps don’t take much effort, but if we all do them they’ll go a long way towards containing the spread of the virus.

Right now we’re continuing to do contact tracing and quarantine close contacts. But I expect to see more cases with no known contacts in the coming days.

If the numbers keep growing, at some point, we’ll have to reconsider our strategy. If the virus is widespread, it’s futile to try to trace every contact. If we still hospitalize and isolate every suspected case, our hospitals will be overwhelmed.

At that point, provided the fatality rate stays low like flu, we should shift our approach. Encourage those who only have mild symptoms to see their family GP and rest at home, instead of going to the hospital. And let hospitals and health care workers focus on the most vulnerable patients — the elderly, young children and those with medical complications. We’re not at that point yet. It may or may not happen. But we’re thinking ahead and anticipating the next few steps. And I’m sharing these possibilities with you so that we’re all mentally prepared for what may come.

I’m confident of the medical outcome of this outbreak. Most Singaporeans should remain well. And of those who get ill, most should expect to recover. Among those who’ve been hospitalized so far, most are stable or improving. Several have already recovered and been discharged, although a few remain in critical condition.

But the real test is to our social cohesion and psychological resilience. Fear and anxiety are natural human reactions. We all want to protect ourselves and our families from what is still a new and unknown disease.

But fear can do more harm than the virus itself. It can make us panic or do things which make matters worse: like circulating rumors online, hoarding face masks or food, or blaming particular groups for the outbreak.

Instead, we should take courage and see through this stressful time together. That is, in fact, what many Singaporeans are doing.

• Grassroots leaders and team Miele volunteers have stepped forward to help distribute masks to households.

• University students are delivering food daily to school mates confined to their dorms on leave of absence.

• Health care workers are on the front line treating patients in hospitals and clinics and helping them get well again.

• Business Federations, unions, public transport workers are going the extra mile to maintain services, take care of workers, and keep Singapore running.

They’re inspirations to all of us. This is what it means to be Singaporean. This is who we are. Let’s stay united and resolute in this new coronavirus outbreak. Take sensible precautions. Help one another. Stay calm and carry on with our lives.”

Rafael M. Alunan III is a former Secretary of Interior and Local Government and chairs the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations.

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