I refer to the Forum letter, "995 operator said all ambulances out covering Covid-19 cases" (Oct 7), and the Singapore Civil Defence Force's response, "SCDF prioritises life-threatening emergencies" (Oct 14).

With work from home currently the default arrangement, demand for private-hire drivers is lower.

Can Singapore consider recruiting some private-hire drivers to transport patients to community care facilities or community treatment facilities so as to relieve the burden on the overstretched ambulance services?

These drivers would have to be fully vaccinated and given basic medical training.

They could also be given personal protective equipment and taught how to decontaminate their vehicles, so as to protect the drivers and their other passengers from catching Covid-19 from the patients they transport.

This will allow more people to contribute to the fight against Covid-19, and go some way towards spreading out the heavy load on the healthcare system.

Kevin Tong Weng Jin