Forum: Review alert levels before any downgrade

Patients wearing masks at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, on Feb 4, 2020. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, it has been observed that some of the locations where clusters have emerged have taken stringent preventative measures when the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (Dorscon) level was raised from code yellow to orange.

These included disallowing handshakes and suspension of services.

But it is now clear from the Ministry of Health's (MOH) detailed contact tracing that a number of infection and transmission cases occurred during code yellow, incubating till symptoms were evident during code orange.

The guidelines for preventative measures for code yellow appear insufficient, especially in relation to what places of mass gatherings or commerce should do to proactively lower risks.

The MOH and relevant agencies may want to consider reviewing the code yellow guidelines before any downgrade to that level, or in preparation for a future pandemic, given that experts have predicted that this virus may become seasonal.

Also, I suggest that the Dorscon guide table separate what individuals and institutions/businesses should do, for more clarity of instruction, or have summary and detailed versions.

Otherwise, code yellow may give us a false sense of security, and the jump to code orange may be too wide.

This is evidenced by the momentary fog of panic among some people when code orange was announced.

It would help if each Dorscon level includes what we should or should not do when the next level up is announced.

Even if the alert level is lowered, it would be wise to avoid a sudden relaxation of measures that may result in complacency and another outbreak, even of a different disease.

In the long run, it may be an important part of Total Defence to take into account seasonal risks, with Singapore being a global air and shipping hub, and make preventative measures a part of our daily lives, systems, infrastructure and national psyche.

Raymond Tham Kon Weng

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 24, 2020, with the headline Forum: Review alert levels before any downgrade. Subscribe