Singapore sling shot
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India Virus patrol
At the first sign of infection, it implemented an aggressive test, track, and isolate approach. It tested those who were showing symptoms. If they tested positive, it tested those with whom they had been in close contact. And so on. Those who tested positive were, of course, kept in isolation.
[It seemed to work, but the Flu was taking a temporary leave of absence, alas]
In response to the reemergence of the virus, Singapore is imposing new restrictions on its population. According to this report, the government has ordered most workplaces to close and schools to switch to online instruction.
Temperatures in Singapore have been around 80 degrees lately. Yet, the virus is making a comeback. Hot weather doesn’t appear to be bringing Singapore relief from this particular virus.
I kind of wish I hadn’t looked into the Singapore experience. To me, it suggests the futility of even best practices to combat the spread of this virus over the long term. Singapore beat it back, only to be treated to a second wave.
Even with the U.S. in lockdown, it might take the U.S. many months to beat the virus back, with no reason to be confident that there won’t be a second wave once we go back to work. It will probably be more than a year until a vaccine is ready for general use. In the meantime, our best hope might reside in keeping hospitals adequately supplied and in the development of treatments to minimize deaths among the infected.
If we are largely helpless in preventing the spread of this virus, that’s an argument for reopening the economy sooner rather than later. The more helpless we are on the epidemiological side, the fewer lives we can save through restrictive measures. We are less helpless, I hope, on the economic side.
It seems to me that everyone is conceding that the flu will be with us until most of us have been infected and no longer capable of serving as its hosts. If so, then all we’re accomplishing by hiding indoors is toe delay that happy day.
