REACH 297 - What are your views on changes to border measures to safeguard Singapore from the Omicron variant? What precautions are you taking amid the emergence of this latest variant? (SK)

29 Nov 2021 (10am - 7pm)

REACH

[9:48 am, 29/11/2021] +REACHDear Contributors,

Welcome back! 😊

⏰ We will be opening the chat from * 10am to 7pm* today. ⏰

House Rules (short version of our Terms of Use) to keep in mind: 

1. Be kind and respectful. We all want to be in a safe space to share our views. 

2. Any and all threatening, abusive, vulgar or racially, religiously and ethnically objectionable content is prohibited.

3. Consider the quiet ones among us and give them a chance to comment.

4. No need to repeat your comment or in different forms (including caps) - we heard you loud and clear the first time.

5. Let’s protect each other’s privacy and keep contact details in this group what it should always be - confidential. 

Full set of Terms of Use: https://go.gov.sg/reach-whatsapp-terms

We will strive to uphold these rules to ensure this is a safe space for all.

Please be assured that the points made by participants during the chat are aggregated and shared with relevant agencies.

The topic will be posted shortly.

Thank you

Megan 😊

[10:00 am, 29/11/2021] +REACH📢 Topic 📢 

Singapore is watching the new coronavirus variant Omicron closely and may be forced to roll back the easing up of safety measures as it moves forward to tackle the disease, said PM Lee on 28 Nov (Sun). "We are tracking this very closely. We are not sure yet, but we may well be forced to take a few steps back again, before we can take more steps forward," he said, adding that he is nevertheless confident the country will be able to live with the virus, and held up how Singaporeans have made a lot of progress in dealing with the disease over the past two years. 

💬 What are your views on changes to border measures to safeguard Singapore from the Omicron variant? What precautions are you taking amid the emergence of this latest variant? 

To reduce the risk of importing the variant to Singapore, border measures will be reviewed on several fronts. The launch of vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be deferred until further notice due to their proximity to affected African countries, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). The VTLs to the three Middle Eastern countries were slated to begin on Dec 6. 

Further, all travellers with recent travel history to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are no longer allowed to enter into or transit through Singapore. Returning Singapore citizens and permanent residents will have to serve a 10-day stay-home notice (SHN) at dedicated facilities. The Omicron variant was first identified in South Africa and appears to have been responsible for a sudden surge of Covid-19 cases there. Singapore has not yet detected any cases of the variant to date, said MOH. 

From 29 Nov (Mon), those travelling from Malaysia to Singapore via the land VTL will also be required to take an antigen rapid test (ART) upon arrival here, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

👉🏼 https://str.sg/3N9J 

👉🏼 https://str.sg/3NCA 

👉🏼 https://str.sg/3NRJ 

👉🏼 https://str.sg/3N9U 

👉🏼 https://str.sg/3NR4

------

[10:13 am, 29/11/2021] +linyuxiang: its very unfortunate these variants are out and about when travel is resuming... the best we can do right now is to just stick to following the measures as best as possible but at the rate we are going, vtls are set to be abolished soon

[10:13 am, 29/11/2021] +clarisse lim: Agreed

[10:15 am, 29/11/2021] +Caleb: Maybe get all to self test when they arrived on SG, like on their 5th and 7th day?

[10:15 am, 29/11/2021] +Caleb: Or on the 7th day, go Quick test center for ART

[10:26 am, 29/11/2021] +Smiley face: https://youtu.be/eDkC21Dm0Hk

[11:14 am, 29/11/2021] ☸️  Danny 心: 

1. This Omicron strain inherits all the characteristics and far more potent than Delta strain.

2. Barely few weeks, Delta infected 53 countries. And the moment Delta hit Singapore shore, all hell break loose, causing mass infection and trigger many measures up to now - where we barely has managed to control it.

3. Certainly, it warrant us to be more careful about this Omicron strain - and our pre-emptive move to close the borders to some countries where Omicron is spreading is appropriate.

4. Medical labs all over the world are scrambling to determine how transmissible, whether or current vaccinations can curb it, will it develop into more serious illness etc - and this will need at least 2 weeks or more to find out.

5. Hence we err on the caution side is a right move. In fact globally, all countries are taking similar move - until more data from this strain emerge - then we can take more measure approach to tackle this strain.

[11:36 am, 29/11/2021] +Boon: Dear REACH, variants should be expected, and Sg shouldn’t get into a panic - and to raise uncertainties of additional rounds of social and business restrictions - everytime a variant  is announced. Addressing this social uncertainty of on-off restrictions is important for daily lives. New “a few steps back” restrictions should only be considered after certain key metrics are breached. These key metrics should be transparent so that Sg society can better manage our own precautions and expectations. This is regardless of border measures, which are welcomed.

[11:41 am, 29/11/2021] +Laurent: Don't fear Omicron fear the manipulative governments

[11:42 am, 29/11/2021] +Boon: Restrictions impose societal costs. Hence, any new restrictions should be based on rational, transparent and consistent basis. Objective “heads up” guidance to Sg society and local businesses is very important factor for us to live with Covid in this “new normal”, and one that we are dependent on the govt. Thank you to our PM and agencies for already giving this heads up.

[11:43 am, 29/11/2021] +Jospeh: I fear fools who mistake the man-in-the-mirror for a genius, the most

[11:44 am, 29/11/2021] +Laurent: More people died from car accidents than Covid in Singapore

Did we stop driving?

[11:47 am, 29/11/2021] +RH: Very happy to hear the Gov taking immediate measures to keep our country safe...  Even gg beyond wat we hv read (ie.  deferring VTL for transitting countries) ...

Tq for the foresight  by our leaders. 👍🏻👍🏻

[11:47 am, 29/11/2021] +Jospeh: Compare apples with apples, Genius. If you want to compare car accidents with Covid infections, then you need to normalise the distance traveled and interactions on the roads between cars/vehicles against that of a person interacting with others. How much time, distance traveled and interactions resulting in an accident versus and infection.

[11:48 am, 29/11/2021] +RH: Now,  pls make ART test kits cheaper....  

😃

[11:49 am, 29/11/2021] +RH: We shd also still continue to prepare more beds in readiness for unexpected outbreak.

[11:50 am, 29/11/2021] +Jospeh: Besides, there are many restrictions associated with operating a vehicle. And yet, there are still accidents. Can you imagine a free for all when it comes to managing a pandemic?

[11:50 am, 29/11/2021] +RH: Now is the time to ramp up our readiness to deal with any sudden upsurge  ...

Not the time to relax  ...

We hv to be even more vigilant now than b4, if we r to continue "living with the virus".

[11:59 am, 29/11/2021] +JC: There's no data yet to suggest that Omnicron variant is more severe than Delta. It is potentially more transmissible and could be less responsive to current vaccines. Until there's more data, some caution is warranted but don't need to be too fearful.

[0:01 pm, 29/11/2021] +JC: My hope is that it is a much more transmissible but mild version of covid. Govt is doing e right things for now to slow e spread by managing external borders. Local relaxation shd remain in place unless there's evidence of local transmission.

[0:01 pm, 29/11/2021] +JC: Give it a few more weeks and we'll know more.

[0:01 pm, 29/11/2021] +JC: Based on how things develops in Africa and Europe.

[0:06 pm, 29/11/2021] +Jospeh: Initial data shows that the mutation in Omnicron makes it more infectious and able to evade the vaccine. Even if it is not more virulent/deadly than Delta, if the first 2 factors are true, we will see more patients requiring intensive care and/or deaths.

3 most important factors:

1. Transmissibility

2. Virulence

3. Vaccine/antibody protection

Increased transmissibility alone, can result in more deaths than increased virulence - its simple Maths, which is usually misjudged.

[0:08 pm, 29/11/2021] +Jospeh: Preparing the number hospital/ICU beds is relatively easy ... increasing the number of medically trained workers is much more challenging

[0:14 pm, 29/11/2021] +RH: Agree.

[0:25 pm, 29/11/2021] +JC: All true. Key unknown is the virulence factor and if it's a much milder disease, transmissibility and vaccine evasion won't matter as much. Early signs from SA seems to suggest that it is milder but will need more data to know for sure.

[0:36 pm, 29/11/2021] +Jospeh: I would take what SA is saying about the virulence of a mutation originating from their region, with a large pinch of salt. 

Extract from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/south-african-doctor-who-flagged-omicron-claims-variant-not-causing-serious-illness/

Angelique Coetzee, part of the team that discovered the new COVID-19 strain, says even unvaccinated patients treated by her have had mild symptoms.

In all likelihood, these patients had previously caught and recovered from the Alpha and Delta variants ie. they would have antibodies protecting them against the earlier variants ... 

I suspect the outcome/symptoms for someone who is unvaccinated and had not previously encountered the virus ie. totally unprotected, would be very different

[0:44 pm, 29/11/2021] +JC: Agree there's need for further verification from multiple sources to know for sure. I'm more hopeful as mutations typically trend towards more transmissible but less virulent variants. Until we are certain, short period of border control is probably justifiable.

[1:01 pm, 29/11/2021] +Anthony: From China to India & now South Africa ,These kind of Virus Variant can happens anywhere in our planet .

But one thing for sure if G/MOH must acknowledge of human casualties that we learnt Covid 19 especially Delta Variant.

Government can do now give every household like ARTKIT every month like 10 to 20 KIt

Which Governments & MOH can deliver not the hardest decision to be make

Secondly, make sure the price of ART KIT be more affordable before Omicron hit our Shore

Social gathering must reduce to 2pax , if Omicron arrive here once that happens

Until our Government & MOH able to cope the uncertainties.

Before reopen

[1:10 pm, 29/11/2021] +Anthony: https://youtu.be/BSTXxVfCbx0

[1:12 pm, 29/11/2021] +Anthony: 4× infectious then Delta Variant🙅‍♂️🙅‍♂️

[1:22 pm, 29/11/2021] +YT: Not "if", but "when". That is, "when omicron arrives in Singapore". For all we know, it's already here but not detected yet.

[1:23 pm, 29/11/2021] +Anthony: Sooner or later ,as lesson told us 2 years ago

[1:25 pm, 29/11/2021] +Anthony: When Wuhan announce the world January 23 2020 within 2 weeks later  SG had the first case

[2:17 pm, 29/11/2021] +REACHSingapore, Malaysia aim to expand land VTL to general travellers from mid-Dec; to start talks on sea VTL

Singapore and Malaysia are aiming to expand the land Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme, which began on Monday (Nov 29), to include general travellers from mid-December, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

More https://str.sg/3Nvp

[2:49 pm, 29/11/2021] +Caleb: I think those coming back from SF countries need to be on dedicated stay home facilities for 14 days. Cannot at their own homes.

[4:41 pm, 29/11/2021] ☸️  Danny 心: 

1. Early data indicate that Omicron can evade the anti-bodies that all current vaccines are developed to prevent covid infection due to numerous mutations of spike protein - which the anti-bodies fail to recognise.

2. There are some mutations to the T-cell region in which current vaccines are design to attack if cells are infected - due to possible failure to recognise the infected cell.

3. So Omicron through early data reveal it is not a benign one as it sounds - as most infected people are young people - not the vulnerable groups.

[5:16 pm, 29/11/2021] ☸️  Danny 心: 

1. Our current vaccines have 2 lines of defence:-

a. Anti-bodies that enwrap the covid through attachment to their spike protein.

b. T-cell that attack the infected cell if it evade the anti-bodies.

2. Delta and other strains  may be able to bypass anti-bodies but will be attack by T-cell and clear the bodies of Covid.

3. But Omicron seems to be able to bypass the 2 line of defence which the vaccines erected.

[6:19 pm, 29/11/2021] ☸️  Danny 心: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/covid-19-variant-omicron-poses-very-high-global-risk-countries-must-prepare-who 

Covid-19 variant Omicron poses 'very high' global risk, countries must prepare: WHO.

Increasing cases, regardless of a change in severity, may pose overwhelming demands on healthcare systems and may lead to increased morbidity and mortality. The impact on vulnerable populations would be substantial, particularly in countries with low vaccination coverage,” it added.

[6:20 pm, 29/11/2021] ☸️  Danny 心: 

Overall, there are considerable uncertainties in the magnitude of immune escape potential of Omicron.” More data was expected in coming weeks.

“Covid-19 cases and infections are expected in vaccinated persons, albeit in a small and predictable proportion”, it added.

[6:23 pm, 29/11/2021] ☸️  Danny 心: 

1. WHO initial assessment - Omicron pose a very high global

risk - particularly to the vulnerable groups and the unvaccinated group.

2. Vaccination with 2 jabs will still see breakthrough. But vaccination will ward off serious illness and death.

3. Booster is still touted as a better protection against Omicron as it currently stands.

[6:45 pm, 29/11/2021] +REACH: Dear Contributors,

⏰ We will be closing the chat in 15 minutes ⏰

Thank you very much for being part of our WhatsApp chat and participating actively.

Goodnight!

Megan

[6:59 pm, 29/11/2021] +Smiley face: 29 November, 2021 

To: Distinguished MTF and All Honorable Members 

"Singapore cannot claim to have better doctors and scientists or better healthcare than the United States or Europe." 

- - PM Lee

How:

Is the ART sensitive to capture this O?

How about PCR? 

Relook all protocols - medical, social, economics and ports of entry (air/sea/land)? 

Simply there is no quick way out of this latest covid situation, one needs to be cautiously optimistic going into the next 3 to 4 months. 

Going Forward:

In order to further the understanding of covid, causation and future scenarios, there is a need to dive deeper into cell dynamics - a cell, inside a cell, deeper and its relativity & activity. 

Creating a multi-discipline team of TOP WORLD CLASS medical and science experts to include the following disciplines with two experts from each of these 7.

Microbiology

Epidemiology

Immunology

Virology

Quantum biology

Evolutionary biology

Mathematician 

News:

Trust is the 'decisive difference' in S'pore's response to Covid-19: PM Lee 

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/trust-is-the-decisive-difference-in-spores-response-to-covid-19-says-pm-lee-at-pap

https://youtu.be/eDkC21Dm0Hkhttps

//m.timesofindia.com/world/rest-of-world/south-african-medical-association-says-omicron-variant-causes-mild-disease/articleshow/87949404.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

[7:00 pm, 29/11/2021] +REACH: Dear Contributors,

We will be closing the chat for today.

Thank you very much for being part of our WhatsApp chat and participating actively.

Goodnight!

Megan 😊

=====