This article is
entitled, “Threat of epidemic is ever-present, Gan warns,” by Tan Weizhen. This
article was posted by Weizhen on Singapore’s TODAY website about three and a
half hours ago. Yesterday, Singapore held their SARS commemorative ceremony at
Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in honor of those who lost their lives to the Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) about a decade ago. Health Minister Gan Kim
Yong spoke at the ceremony warning Singaporeans that “the ever-present threat
of infectious diseases remains a concern worldwide ... surely it will come one
day,” He urges citizens to stay prepared all the time because Singapore is at
great risk of another outbreak due to their global connectivity. Gan also
stated that the World Health Organization has recently called a global alert
for a new virus that has appeared in the Middle East. The virus, Novel
Coronavirus, is in the same group as the SARS virus which struck Singapore ten
years prior.
Speaking upon the idea of facing another outbreak Gan says that, “If you are talking about a true pandemic, for example H1N1, it spreads very easily... can’t be prevented actually, from person to person. Can the country protect itself against a pandemic the way we did for SARS? It will be difficult, but the smaller outbreaks, yes we can.” In preparation for a new epidemic to hit Singapore they have put in a lot of processes that have been planned and tested such as segregating and managing patients with symptoms of infectious diseases and adding a number of isolation rooms in multiple hospitals.
Speaking upon the idea of facing another outbreak Gan says that, “If you are talking about a true pandemic, for example H1N1, it spreads very easily... can’t be prevented actually, from person to person. Can the country protect itself against a pandemic the way we did for SARS? It will be difficult, but the smaller outbreaks, yes we can.” In preparation for a new epidemic to hit Singapore they have put in a lot of processes that have been planned and tested such as segregating and managing patients with symptoms of infectious diseases and adding a number of isolation rooms in multiple hospitals.
In another article on the TODAY website (http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/new-infectious-diseases-hospital-2018)
it announces the opening of a new infectious diseases’ hospital by 2018 in
Singapore. The preparations Singapore has completed and is working on being
completed are all in preparation for a pandemic or outbreak that could take place
again. Gan described SARS as “one of the darkest moments in Singapore’s history
and yet, is remembered as one of our finest triumphs – when the nation banded
together with resilience, determination and compassion,” this quote sums up why
Singapore has been increasing efforts and building a whole new facility to
combat diseases solely because SARS had such a negative impact on the country
and brought them to the realization that they must increase efforts to combat a
disease that could hit the country again.
This relates back to our epidemic diseases class because we always look at how a country reacts to an epidemic and what preparations they take in order to prevent it from happening again. In Singapore’s case they improved their health system drastically. They trained doctors and healthcare workers how to treat and manage someone with an infectious disease, have installed hundreds of isolation rooms in their hospitals to act as quarantines, and are in the process of completing the construction of a new infectious disease’s hospital to open by 2018. The positive reaction by Singapore to a national crisis is one that can stand as an example to other countries that being prepared for what could possibly come is the best way to prevent deaths on a large scale from an outbreak.
This relates back to our epidemic diseases class because we always look at how a country reacts to an epidemic and what preparations they take in order to prevent it from happening again. In Singapore’s case they improved their health system drastically. They trained doctors and healthcare workers how to treat and manage someone with an infectious disease, have installed hundreds of isolation rooms in their hospitals to act as quarantines, and are in the process of completing the construction of a new infectious disease’s hospital to open by 2018. The positive reaction by Singapore to a national crisis is one that can stand as an example to other countries that being prepared for what could possibly come is the best way to prevent deaths on a large scale from an outbreak.
This is a great article and shows how that the world is very susceptible to another pandemic due to the advances in technology leading to globalization. Some countries are more susceptible than others and Singapore is at large risk because it is very global. The (WHO) does a great job identifying diseases that could possibly pose a threat as a pandemic such as the coronavirus which is in the family of SARS which heavily affected Singapore a decade ago. This is an interesting article because it is interesting to see the reaction of countries in preparation for infectious diseases entering the country.
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