Community involvement key in containing coronavirus spread: Infectious diseases expert

SINGAPORE - The community's involvement in responding to the virus in China was key, even though the many lockdowns and travel ban came at great economic and social cost, said infectious diseases specialist Dale Fisher, who was part of a joint WHO-China mission last month.

Prof Fisher, from the National University of Singapore told The Straits Times: "It's extraordinary, the absence of people on streets, the absence of cars, the shops closed.

"And as you look at high rise buildings, it's full of people complying with China's request to socially isolate and bring this disease under control."

China is still ramping up its capacity to deal with the virus because they "don't believe its going away anytime soon", including building new isolation rooms and acquiring more equipment.

Compared with it, countries like Italy, Japan and South Korea have not fared any better.

"For all the criticisms against China originally, you can look at the current places, and ask the same questions," he said.

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In an e-mail this week to his National University Health System colleagues, Prof Fisher said Singapore was ready to deal with the massive outbreak that could be coming as more cases spread around the world.

"I believe we were lucky to have a 'test run' over the last month with imported and locally transmitted cases together with a few transmission chains.

"This should be seen as the lead time to what could become massive transmission in the coming weeks and months," he wrote.

The biggest worry now is that the situation in Wuhan - where hospitals were completely overwhelmed - could be repeated, especially in countries that have a less robust healthcare system.

"A community response is very important... so in certain ways, the solution lies within the community," he said. "It's up to governments and health departments to ensure the community is engaged and is part of the response."

At the same time, however, countries should ensure their health systems do not become overwhelmed, he said.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.