COVID-19...from Pandemic to endemic
Denmark says COVID is no longer a ‘socially critical disease.’ Since the pandemic began, the country reports a total 342,866 infected persons and 2,575 deaths as of end August 2021. In recent weeks, the new daily cases have averaged below 1,000. Having vaccinated 80% of its circa 5.8 million total population who are aged 12+ years.
Magnus Heunicke, the country’s health minister has declared that it would no longer label COVID as a ‘socially critical disease’ and will drop restrictions from 10th September onwards. In simple terms, COVID is something to be managed but eventually to be lived with and would transit from pandemic control to good endemic management.
What this means is that the country would ease out the last of its ‘important restriction’ including people having to show coronavirus passes at night clubs and sporting events. There is however, one exception to the rules that are been phased out. Travel border-controls will remain – reinforcing the now widely accepted fact that the disease including variants can spread via travel.
Singapore (population: circa 5.9 million), like all other countries followed a zero transmission model. However, recently it announced plans of an exit strategy that will involve ‘learning to live with COVID-19’.Writing in the Singapore Strait Times, Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong together with Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had said, “The bad news is that COVID-19 may never go away. The good news is that it is possible to live normally with it in our midst”.
They further suggested that “like flu, the coronavirus will continue to mutate and survive in the community. But just as we have learned to live with influenza without implementing lockdowns or closing our borders, we will also learn to live with COVID-19. Going on to add,” We can’t eradicate it, but we can turn the pandemic into something much less threatening, like influenza, hand, foot and mouth disease or chickenpox and get on with our lives”.
Currently 79% of Singapore’s total population has been vaccinated and once the vaccination targets are achieved, the island aims to keep the virus contained with testing and surveillance, whereby those who get ill from COVID-19 will be permitted to recover at home and people will be urged to comply with ‘social responsibility’ such as good hygiene and avoiding crowds when feeling ill. Stringent tests will be carried out at the borders to identify those coming into the country with the virus and at mass gathering events in Singapore.
Plans are also afoot to halt counting the daily COVID-19 infections. Instead it will focus on how many fall very sick and other health outcomes.
Hospitality Sri Lanka News
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