Singapore, praised for its COVID-19 response, goes into lockdown as cases rise

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries have gained recognition for their excellent handling of the difficult situation. Among them has been Singapore, a small nation that famously did not announce a lockdown - until today.   [caption id=“attachment_8108771” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] Today, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that all schools, universities and workplaces will be closed for a month-long period until May 4. Only essential businesses, like grocery stores and banks, will be permitted to function. This move comes after an uptick in the number of confirmed cases.   It’s also common knowledge that Singapore imports all goods, including essentials. To preemptively address this concern, PM Lee added that the nation has enough to survive this period and even longer. As of the afternoon of April 3, the country that is half the size of New Delhi had 1,114 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. They’ve had a total of 5 deaths - the first of which only occurred on March 21, when they already had over 385 confirmed patients. This may, in part, be due to the planning that occurred post the SARS outbreak in 2002-03, like the building of isolation hospitals and negative pressure rooms. Testing was also widely available and the social campaign to spread awareness about COVID-19 was extraordinary.   The measure before today included strict border controls, contact tracing, quarantine, home isolation and social distancing. Citizens were also provided with an app that could make contact tracing much easier for officials after one was diagnosed with COVID-19. The cooperation of citizens was what made these measures successful though - for a country that is famous for its food courts, it wasn’t odd to see friends sitting at separate tables while having dinner. Under the new lockdown directives, food establishments will still remain open. The government had also made sure that all events until June 30 that included large gatherings were suspended. The government also ensured that at-risk populations like the elderly knew of the infection and the precautions they needed to take. For more information, read our article on   COVID 19 Prevention Tips for Older People and Those Living with Chronic Illnesses_._ Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.