Singapore has recorded fewer deaths from COVID-19 than almost any other country with reliable data: only 36 to date, which equates to a rate of just six per million. (The U.K.’s official COVID-19 death rate is 1,890 per million.)
And according to the World Mortality Dataset, Singapore has had zero excess mortality since the pandemic began. On the other hand, the country did take a sizeable economic hit last year – with GDP falling by 5.4% (compared to only 2.8% in Sweden).
What’s more, Singapore has not recorded more than 100 cases in a day since August of last year. If any advanced country has come close to “Zero Covid”, it’s Singapore.
Despite that record, three Singaporean ministers have announced that “COVID-19 may never go away” and “it is possible to live normally with it in our midst”.
Writing in The Straits Times, Gan Kim Yong, Lawrence Wong and Ong Ye Kung (the ministers for trade, finance and health) say that “COVID-19 will very likely become endemic”. This means that “the virus will continue to mutate, and thereby survive in our community”.
In other words, the Singaporean Government is under no illusion that it will be possible to eliminate COVID-19, contrary to the claims of the “Zero COVID” movement. Indeed, a survey by Nature of 119 experts found that 89% believe it is “likely” or “very likely” that SARS-CoV-2 will become an endemic virus.
“We can’t eradicate it”, the ministers write, “but we can turn the pandemic into something much less threatening, like influenza.” How do they propose to deal with the virus going forward?
First, they intend to proceed with their vaccination program, which aims to have two thirds of people vaccinated by August 9th. Second, they intend to continue testing, but “the focus will be different”. For example, the country will cease “monitoring COVID-19 infection numbers every day”. Third, they intend to keep using and developing effective treatments for COVID-19.
As Yong, Wong and Kung conclude, “History has shown that every pandemic will run its course.” Though one might object that even the few remaining measures are no longer necessary, the ministers seem to understand what they’re talking about. Their article is worth reading in full.
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Seems to me they’re trying to disperse association between covid and lockdown in search for another reason to maintain restrictions. The lab leak may have debunked any correlation between the virus and climate change, something Schwab and his buddies were trying desperately to do. Its also going to become tougher and tougher for them to convince people that lockdowns are necessary as death rates dwindle. Question is what that new association will be. I think we’re getting a breather for the next two months until something else hits in Sept. This also allows the establishment to distance themselves from the disastrous vaccine side effect statistics.
I suppose this is mildly encouraging, though it’s already endemic and any “pandemic” was over a while ago. One fears though that their version of living with it isn’t the same as ours.
it’s odd that everyone seems to think Influenza isn’t a killer haha.
Yes its amazing isn’t it – when you mention Influenza deaths people just can’t seem to grasp the seriousness that seasonal influenza was and always was and still is … although these days every symptom is now covid.
I know of someone who caught a common cold that eventually turned into bronchial pneumonia and he almost died of it – thankfully he made a full recovery but to think that even a common cold has the potential to be deadly … as with every single virus out there.
A killer flu killed just under 65,000 people in the UK in one month alone back in 2018.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5440785/Killer-flu-outbreak-blame-42-spike-deaths.html
and even then they were promoting fear to the innumerate. “OMG, highest since records began”. Of course the number of deaths are going to go up if the population is doing the same.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, more people died in January 2018 than 2021. The total figure for England and Wales was up by 9,000 over 2018 (73,000 in Jan 2021, 64,000 in 2018), but it’s worth remembering the population has grown by around one million in that time.
And think that the common cold isn’t a killer:
‘Unexpectedly Higher Morbidity and Mortality of Hospitalized Elderly Patients Associated with Rhinovirus Compared with Influenza Virus Respiratory Tract Infection’
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5343795/
The complete lack of perspective in government briefings, state broadcasting, has been an absolute disgrace; a scandal requiring remedy.
Careful what you ask for! Don’t encourage them!
Another interesting thing that Singapore did was treat SARS-COV-2 as a nosocomial infection that spreads via the oral-faecal route (like norovirus) and implemented extreme hygiene measures in their hospitals to prevent it spreading there. This approach was highly successful.
A marked contrast with the approach in the West, which seemed to involve taking absolutely no action to prevent transmission in the places it was rife – hospitals and care homes – while taking draconian action against healthy people in places where the virus doesn’t spread much – shops, schools, offices, homes.
Having read the article “in full”, it still sounds a lot like a horrible WEF wet dream of surveillance, testing and digital ID certification. No thanks.
‘zactly
Yep, I read it a couple of days ago and was horrified. I can’t believe anyone would find their description of the New Normal the slightest bit encouraging.
Johnson probably drooled over it.
“Fifth, we will be able to travel again, at least to countries that have also controlled the virus and turned it into an endemic norm. We will recognise each other’s vaccination certificates. Travellers, especially those vaccinated, can get themselves tested before departure and be exempted from quarantine with a negative test upon arrival.”
Vaccine passports for international travel will be the lasting legacy of this corona nightmare.
Every major crisis leaves some lasting measure of population control. 9/11 resulted in biometric passports and shared info between airlines and governments. The financial crisis left much tighter financial disclosure requirements and sharing of financial information between banks and governments. This one will leave immunity passports and the sharing of information between healthcare providers and governments.
Spot the pattern. An industry is affected and governments step in to “regulate” and take control in a way that gives them more power and control over their populations.
Yes , this is just part of a movement over decades. The ‘greening’ of society is next to change and control our lives. None of these do anything but control and eradicate freedoms.
Singapore also isolates its de facto serfs, the armies of migrant workers who do everything from sweeping the streets to changing nappies. many went home during lockdown, many others have been in dormitories for months. Singapore may well be a success story in many ways, and no one is forced to work there, but let’s not kid ourselves that it isn’t something extremely close to a slave economy.
These guys run the surveillance state par excellence.
This fake pandemic just helped them hone it and improve their phone based system.
Nothing good to see here, it’s the globalist ideal.
destroying hospitality makes sense if they want the NHS to look good to sell, all forms of alcohol abuse cost money, then destroying the travel industry makes sense if you want to control the populations for your ‘sustainable planet’.