‘Supermarkets play an important role in Covid-19 prevention. Many supermarkets have put in place measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 at their premises. However, as the movement control order is relaxed, and client numbers increase, supermarkets will have to be even more vigilant.
We offer here a “Guide for Supermarkets to Standardise Covid-19 Prevention”: The “new normal” for supermarkets. This guide aims to help standardise the measures to be taken by all supermarkets, as well as offer ideas and initiatives that could be taken.’
Read here (The Malay Mail, April 22, 2020)
Showing posts with label Amar Singh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amar Singh. Show all posts
Wednesday 22 April 2020
Amar Singh and other doctors offer guidelines for supermarkets under new normal
‘Supermarkets play an important role in Covid-19 prevention. Many supermarkets have put in place measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 at their premises. However, as the movement control order is relaxed, and client numbers increase, supermarkets will have to be even more vigilant.
‘We offer here a “Guide for Supermarkets to Standardise Covid-19 Prevention”: The “new normal” for supermarkets. This guide aims to help standardise the measures to be taken by all supermarkets, as well as offer ideas and initiatives that could be taken.’
Read here (The Malay Mail, April 22, 2020)
‘We offer here a “Guide for Supermarkets to Standardise Covid-19 Prevention”: The “new normal” for supermarkets. This guide aims to help standardise the measures to be taken by all supermarkets, as well as offer ideas and initiatives that could be taken.’
Read here (The Malay Mail, April 22, 2020)
Wednesday 15 April 2020
Ensuring safe environment for primary healthcare settings — Dr Amar-Singh HSS, Dr Lee Chee Wan, Dr Paranthaman and Dr Timothy William
‘This guideline is written to offer ideas to general practitioners (GP) and those working in out-patient clinic settings (OPD) on what precautionary measures to take to curb the spread of Covid-19 disease and protect themselves when the relevant government authorities ease our lockdown.
‘It may also be useful for other clinic settings like speciality clinics, antenatal clinics, dental clinics, etc. We are sharing it to the general public as it may be useful for patients and the community to think though some of these issues.’
Read here (The Malay Mail, April 15, 2020)
‘It may also be useful for other clinic settings like speciality clinics, antenatal clinics, dental clinics, etc. We are sharing it to the general public as it may be useful for patients and the community to think though some of these issues.’
Read here (The Malay Mail, April 15, 2020)
Wednesday 8 April 2020
Dr Amar Singh on life after Covid-19 and other personal beliefs
In this 20-minute interview, Dr Amar Singh talks about his background and experience, who his co-author Dr Lim Swee Im is and life after Covid-19, detailing three exit strategies. He also delves into what the government should do and the type of leadership needed. On a more personal level, he discusses (a) why people should not chase the usual success markers: money, power and fame (b) why belief matters, and (c) ‘life is short, live “death days”…
Amar is a columnist with Malay Mail Online on Covid-19. He is a retired paediatrician, public health practitioner, columnist and avid birdwatcher. This video is part of a series ‘Do More: Take control of your life’ created by former staffer of The Edge, Khoo Hsu Chuang.
View here (Do more, YouTube, April 8, 2020). Listen to podcast here
Amar is a columnist with Malay Mail Online on Covid-19. He is a retired paediatrician, public health practitioner, columnist and avid birdwatcher. This video is part of a series ‘Do More: Take control of your life’ created by former staffer of The Edge, Khoo Hsu Chuang.
View here (Do more, YouTube, April 8, 2020). Listen to podcast here
Tuesday 7 April 2020
Six points from Dr Amar Singh's article: ‘To understand our epidemic stop looking at daily Covid-19 numbers’
(1) Only 20% of the 11,500 daily test capacity we have are used to look for community spread. “The remainder are used to re-test confirmed cases with a view to determine discharge ability, treatment response and possibly repeated tests for suspected cases that are negative the first time (polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests depends on quality of the sample and have only 60-70 per cent positivity for nasal swabs or sputum).”
(2) The number tested positive (daily or cumulative) is dependent on the number of tests we conduct. Some modelling studies estimate the actual number in any country to be 10 times that.
(3) If we used death rate and assumed 1 death per 100, we would have 6,200 cases (as at April 6) but this figure is distorted by other factors. E.g. we could have missed out counting Covid-19 among other pneumonia cases. Pneumonia accounts for 11.8% of deaths in Malaysia or 390 per week.
(4) There are two lag times that affect the figures: (a) First, “it takes about 7-14 days before an infected person presents clinically. It takes another 7-14 days before illness severity and dying (ventilation and ICU care).” (b) Second, there is a backlog of testing. “Some say it takes 5-7 days to get results. Even health care staff that have potentially been exposed may have to wait for 4-5 days to get their status known.”
(5) We have community spread: “From MoH Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) & Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) surveillance that is conducted at selected sites, about 1.2 per cent of these patients have been Covid-19 positive in the past week. This indicates community spread, as these persons have no contact with known cases. We do not know how many patients with pneumonia and severe respiratory illnesses (influenza-like illness) we have missed in the past 4-6 weeks.”
Point 5 justifies a lockdown because, given community spread, gatherings of people could become “transmission amplification events”.
(6) We need to do more to protect our front-line workers. “Many staff have had to rely on homemade (not all reliable) or donated PPE. We are still struggling with the distribution of national PPE supplies. Even as far back as March 20, MoH reported that 15 HCPs had been infected by Covid-19 as part of their work.”
Read here (Malay Mail, April 7, 2020)
(2) The number tested positive (daily or cumulative) is dependent on the number of tests we conduct. Some modelling studies estimate the actual number in any country to be 10 times that.
(3) If we used death rate and assumed 1 death per 100, we would have 6,200 cases (as at April 6) but this figure is distorted by other factors. E.g. we could have missed out counting Covid-19 among other pneumonia cases. Pneumonia accounts for 11.8% of deaths in Malaysia or 390 per week.
(4) There are two lag times that affect the figures: (a) First, “it takes about 7-14 days before an infected person presents clinically. It takes another 7-14 days before illness severity and dying (ventilation and ICU care).” (b) Second, there is a backlog of testing. “Some say it takes 5-7 days to get results. Even health care staff that have potentially been exposed may have to wait for 4-5 days to get their status known.”
(5) We have community spread: “From MoH Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) & Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) surveillance that is conducted at selected sites, about 1.2 per cent of these patients have been Covid-19 positive in the past week. This indicates community spread, as these persons have no contact with known cases. We do not know how many patients with pneumonia and severe respiratory illnesses (influenza-like illness) we have missed in the past 4-6 weeks.”
Point 5 justifies a lockdown because, given community spread, gatherings of people could become “transmission amplification events”.
(6) We need to do more to protect our front-line workers. “Many staff have had to rely on homemade (not all reliable) or donated PPE. We are still struggling with the distribution of national PPE supplies. Even as far back as March 20, MoH reported that 15 HCPs had been infected by Covid-19 as part of their work.”
Read here (Malay Mail, April 7, 2020)
Friday 3 April 2020
Covid-19: To mask or not to mask? — Amar Singh
‘The wearing of mask is an issue that is currently being hotly debated in many parts of the world. Some are calling it the “great mask debate”. I had planned earlier this week to write a full article on this but I think it would serve us better to read some of the very valuable commentaries that have already been done. What I hope to do is to summarise the key points to help us come to a better understanding on whether the general public should wear masks.’
Read here (The Malay Mail, April 3, 2020)
Read here (The Malay Mail, April 3, 2020)
Monday 30 March 2020
Exit strategies for Covid-19 a.k.a can life return to normal? — Dr Amar-Singh HSS and Dr Lim Swee Im
‘We are living in a new reality, what I call the “post-coronavirus reality” and we have to learn how we need to change, how we can adapt and survive this reality. We would like to share with you some preliminary ideas and thoughts on exit strategies from a “lockdown”.
They discuss three exit strategies (1) Give up and give in (2) Segregate old people and children/adults with chronic conditions and (3) A more realistic exit strategy which ‘will require us to cooperate and to work together in a way like we have never done so before. Not as individuals but as a responsible family, a nation of sisters and brothers.’
It will require the following: (1) Continue to maintain strict physical (social) distancing as a long term lifestyle (2) Cleaning hands and surfaces must be normative (3) Using masks must become common place (4) Develop rapid response coronavirus teams ('precision quarantine') (5) Availability of mass testing capability (6) Using technology wisely to track contacts (7) All travellers into the country should be screened (8) Waiting for vaccines to arrive and provide immunity to the population
Read here (The Malay Mail, March 30, 2020)
They discuss three exit strategies (1) Give up and give in (2) Segregate old people and children/adults with chronic conditions and (3) A more realistic exit strategy which ‘will require us to cooperate and to work together in a way like we have never done so before. Not as individuals but as a responsible family, a nation of sisters and brothers.’
It will require the following: (1) Continue to maintain strict physical (social) distancing as a long term lifestyle (2) Cleaning hands and surfaces must be normative (3) Using masks must become common place (4) Develop rapid response coronavirus teams ('precision quarantine') (5) Availability of mass testing capability (6) Using technology wisely to track contacts (7) All travellers into the country should be screened (8) Waiting for vaccines to arrive and provide immunity to the population
Read here (The Malay Mail, March 30, 2020)
Wednesday 11 March 2020
Hard choices for the Covid-19 outbreak
Dr Amar Singh outlines three choices before us:
- The first is to carry on as usual. Put minimum restriction on society. Allow free movement of individuals and allow travel and businesses to continue as usual. This will allow the virus to spread widely and over time we can develop community herd immunity.
- The second option is to continue as we are doing now. Isolation of all infected individuals. Vigilant contact tracing of infected individuals. Limiting travel to and from countries that are of high risk. Screening at entry points to our country.
- The third option is the one that I am advocating for. A pre-emptive strike. That is, we prepare as if an outbreak is imminent or already in place. This will be painful for all of us and it will have to be thought through and will require sustainability measures over time.
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