Coronavirus 2019-2020 thread (no unsubstantiated rumours!)

SteelBird

Colonel
Imagine instead, for the past year or two, you lived were trapped in an area somewhere within the 5th/6th ring road of Beijing. Sure, Covid is under control but where can you go? You want to go anywhere outside the 6th ring road? Sure, 2 weeks quarantine at destination and 2 weeks quarantine on return ... all for a weekend away? Nobody has that time to spare. So you stay within the 6th ring road Singapore
I believe Phnom Penh (not the whole Cambodia) is even smaller than Singapore and guess what? I've been living within the city since the beginning of the pandemic and may continue to live so for a foreseeable period.

However, our government is also thinking about fully reopening the country but they are very cautious. I notice one thing, people inoculated with two doses (whatever vaccine) get infected easily though mild and easily cured but people with the third dose are more protected.
 

OppositeDay

Senior Member
Registered Member
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India is rolling out its ZyCoV-D DNA vaccine, the first ever DNA vaccine approved for human use. Its efficacy at preventing symptomatic cases is 67% after all 3 doses. That's a lot lower than Zhifei, the only other approved 3 shots vaccine. Zhifei is a traditional protein vaccine with traditional aluminum salt adjuvant. I'm all for new technology, but it does seem this sort of performance doesn't quite justify large scale deployment of a technology never before used on human. But it does enable Modi to boast at Biden's Covid summit.
 

Heliox

Junior Member
Registered Member
I believe Phnom Penh (not the whole Cambodia) is even smaller than Singapore and guess what? I've been living within the city since the beginning of the pandemic and may continue to live so for a foreseeable period.

However, our government is also thinking about fully reopening the country but they are very cautious. I notice one thing, people inoculated with two doses (whatever vaccine) get infected easily though mild and easily cured but people with the third dose are more protected.

Yeah, I know my post comes across as a massive whine and it is ... probably :p

But the psychology of things being what they are ...

Not sure if you are bunkered in PP by choice or by govt mandate? By choice is mentally different on the individual as opposed to by mandate? Hence the protest in all those western "free choice" countries where people are not happy about being made to do sensible, logical things against their choice?

Perspective, I used to travel to China about 12-15 times a year pre-Covid. You can imagine how jarring the last 2 years have been for me.

Lastly, just a nuance in your comment about Cambodia govt considering opening up but cautiously.

I believe Cambodia only just achieved high vaccination coverage and is hence pondering leveraging on this? Singapore/Israel achieved their high vaccination coverage earlier and as such, approached this decision earlier. As cases climbed, SG approached a point when they could go the direction of lock-down to control it or say f-it and see where it goes and what you're seeing today is a decision to do a controlled f-it. The graph might look alarming and may seem like it is spiraling out of control but it's not an accurate reflection of the efforts or ability.
Certainly the experience of SG/Israel since then makes for great hindsight material and data for the countries following.
 

SteelBird

Colonel
Yeah, I know my post comes across as a massive whine and it is ... probably :p

But the psychology of things being what they are ...

Not sure if you are bunkered in PP by choice or by govt mandate? By choice is mentally different on the individual as opposed to by mandate? Hence the protest in all those western "free choice" countries where people are not happy about being made to do sensible, logical things against their choice?

Perspective, I used to travel to China about 12-15 times a year pre-Covid. You can imagine how jarring the last 2 years have been for me.

Lastly, just a nuance in your comment about Cambodia govt considering opening up but cautiously.

I believe Cambodia only just achieved high vaccination coverage and is hence pondering leveraging on this? Singapore/Israel achieved their high vaccination coverage earlier and as such, approached this decision earlier. As cases climbed, SG approached a point when they could go the direction of lock-down to control it or say f-it and see where it goes and what you're seeing today is a decision to do a controlled f-it. The graph might look alarming and may seem like it is spiraling out of control but it's not an accurate reflection of the efforts or ability.
Certainly the experience of SG/Israel since then makes for great hindsight material and data for the countries following.
Generally speaking, we are free to go anywhere within the country as long as that area is not a red zone (we separate our country into three different color zones; yellow: low risk, go in and out freely. orange: medium risk, need permission to go in and out and red: no in nor out. However; tourist sites were closed most time from last year until recently. Those tourist sites were flooded with people during the past week of a long holiday from Oct 3 to Oct 10 after reopen. Our ministry of health criticize these people as being irresponsible to gather in such a huge crowd. So, no one force me to stay in PP, I choose to do so myself. Actually I have plan for domestic travel too but during weekend only. No travel on holidays because I'm feared of huge crowd.

As I read the news, the decision of reopening the country will be made within 15 days. I don't know what factors they are considering. To me, only the third jab would make me feel safe and I've already taken it.
 

plawolf

Lieutenant General
After nearly 2 years of pursuing a zero-covid policy, the Singapore govt has decided to say f-it and move on to an official "endemic" stance.

The toll of a zero covid policy on the economy, national reserves (decades of budget surplus) and the mental well being of the population is immense.

To give a bit of perspective on the well being aspect ...

Singapore is 50km by 25km (approx.). At 730 km2, Singapore easily fits within the 6th ring road of Beijing with space to spare. We have no hinterland, no mountain retreats, no secluded national parks. It's as urban as you can get ... Even Hong Kong, with the NT, has more breathing space than we do.

Everyone in this forum has experienced lock-downs. But what then when you are out of lock downs? You have pretty much free movement within your country correct? It may only be domestic travel but it's still travel.

Imagine instead, for the past year or two, you lived were trapped in an area somewhere within the 5th/6th ring road of Beijing. Sure, Covid is under control but where can you go? You want to go anywhere outside the 6th ring road? Sure, 2 weeks quarantine at destination and 2 weeks quarantine on return ... all for a weekend away? Nobody has that time to spare. So you stay within the 6th ring road Singapore

Meantime, I have watched international friends from China, EU, US ... almost any other country really, take "holidays" domestically and I cannot tell you how depressing it is to view their social media post while staring at my limited options of which hotels to book for a "staycation", all within 30mins drive of my home. :rolleyes:

Nah. Bugger this all for a lark. We've shown we can pretty keep this Covid thing under control if we want to BUT I don't think we can afford to and we most certainly don't want to anymore. Not when we see the rest of the world is pretty much moving to the same "sod it" attitude and letting life go on.

Bottom line. 162 deaths out of 127k cases to date = Mortality rate of less than 1%

I think we're doing fine.

It is because too many people have an attitude like that which is why they failed.

You are basically saying those 162 deaths to date, and the hundreds and thousands more to come in the weeks and months ahead is a price worth paying all so you can go on holiday. Learning the best from the west indeed.

I have not been on holiday since this all started or been to a party or cinema or night out or travelled beyond an area bigger than Singapore other than direct drives to and from the airport to drop off relatives going back to China and I’m just fine, so please spare us your first world entitled BS problems.

Zero covid is not only possible but easy and relatively cheap compared to the half arse containment and endless waves of lockdowns and stimulus cycles in the western world. The core problem is that the only viable model for doing so is China, and the western elite would rather their citizens die like flies than lower themselves to following China’s example.

That’s their choice. As is Singapore’s to copy the west rather than China.
 

Sardaukar20

Captain
Registered Member
It is because too many people have an attitude like that which is why they failed.

You are basically saying those 162 deaths to date, and the hundreds and thousands more to come in the weeks and months ahead is a price worth paying all so you can go on holiday. Learning the best from the west indeed.

I have not been on holiday since this all started or been to a party or cinema or night out or travelled beyond an area bigger than Singapore other than direct drives to and from the airport to drop off relatives going back to China and I’m just fine, so please spare us your first world entitled BS problems.

Zero covid is not only possible but easy and relatively cheap compared to the half arse containment and endless waves of lockdowns and stimulus cycles in the western world. The core problem is that the only viable model for doing so is China, and the western elite would rather their citizens die like flies than lower themselves to following China’s example.

That’s their choice. As is Singapore’s to copy the west rather than China.
Agreed.

For those countries who chose the Western model of managing Covid-19, the virus is extremely unforgiving. Once it has already spread too far, the cost of containing it becomes massively higher. There comes a 'point of no return' where it is just no longer feasible politically, and economically to contain the virus.

From the govt's POV, they'll have to do more lockdowns until the point where the economy and society can no longer handle it. For the average citizen's POV, they'll be suffering economic hardship on top of cabin fever from long lockdowns. Hence both the govt and citizens would reach a stage of fatigue that they'll just give up containment. Then the virus just does its work all over again. Its a simple and brutal vicious cycle. The Western model of Covid-19 management is a colossal failure. Its only because of their powerful media and propaganda campaign that too many have failed to grasp this reality.

Unfortunately, too many democracies have already passed the point of no return. Hence, many are already waving the white flag. They have already lost their battle with Covid-19.
 

hashtagpls

Senior Member
Registered Member
It is because too many people have an attitude like that which is why they failed.

You are basically saying those 162 deaths to date, and the hundreds and thousands more to come in the weeks and months ahead is a price worth paying all so you can go on holiday. Learning the best from the west indeed.

I have not been on holiday since this all started or been to a party or cinema or night out or travelled beyond an area bigger than Singapore other than direct drives to and from the airport to drop off relatives going back to China and I’m just fine, so please spare us your first world entitled BS problems.

Zero covid is not only possible but easy and relatively cheap compared to the half arse containment and endless waves of lockdowns and stimulus cycles in the western world. The core problem is that the only viable model for doing so is China, and the western elite would rather their citizens die like flies than lower themselves to following China’s example.

That’s their choice. As is Singapore’s to copy the west rather than China.
Singapore is like taiwan, a society stuck in the past; it's a colonial past where asians in singapore defer to loudmouthed white skinned foreigners, the MAGA types who infest Asia with their prejudices and their bullshit
 
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