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Interestingly, official Singaporean advice recommends masks only for people feeling symptoms. See strategy point 5: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-31/cor

Interestingly, official Singaporean advice recommends masks only for people feeling symptoms. See strategy point 5: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-31/coronavirus-singapore-how-it-fought-the-virus/12100072 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-31/coronavirus-singapore... Also interesting, in a bad way: Strategies 1-4 are plainly beyond the ability of US to implement any time soon.

adventured 7y ago
It's also beyond much of the US to implement 80-90 degree temperatures that dramatically limit the ability for SARS-Cov-2 to spread as in Singapore. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3551767 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3551767 See: Hawaii, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, much of California and a lot of the warmer south. Which are all seeing between extremely low and low localized per capita transmission levels and hospitalizations, despite the very lagged (and overall mediocre) US response. The Las Vegas metro area will be 80 degrees on Wednesday. Take a look at their deaths and hospitalizations (despite having millions of people). With their international traffic, vast number of casinos and casino workers, slow speed at which they shut it all down and the initially lagged testing rates, they should be absolutely buried in Covid cases and deaths. They're anything but and they're seeing no big surge in cases. These temps are the reason why the experts are hopefully anticipating the infection rates to rapidly bend down in the coming weeks, and perhaps peak in May or June. Even very informed people like Bill Gates have spoken publicly about being hopeful about this (see his recent Ted Connects talk, it's about an hour long and almost exclusively about this situation). It's the seasonal temperature increase (and to an extent humidity) factor. edit: I understand why some people don't like these facts, I understand the emotional response. The numbers don't lie: hotter climates in the US are not seeing the surge in cases, they're not seeing the same hospitalization rates and as a consequence they're not seeing the deaths as in the other climates like NY, NJ, MA, IL, CT, MI. Check out all the cities in Texas (huge population), their metro areas, and look at the per capita rates of infection, hospitalization and death. Then compare.
- bsder 7y ago
  > See: Hawaii, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, much of California and a lot of the warmer south. Which are all seeing between extremely low and low localized per capita transmission levels and hospitalizations, despite the very lagged (and overall mediocre) US response. And yet Lousiana is getting pounded because of Mardi Gras. And Florida is likely to follow due to Spring Break. No state yet has evidence that they have turned their curve over from the standard R0. And, last I checked, practically every state was on the same trajectory past the 100th case.
  - adventured 7y ago
    Hotter temperatures do not guarantee the cessation of all possible transmission of SARS-CoV-2, it impedes it in relation to the increase in temperature (and also ideally humidity, particularly indoors). It helps make everything else you might do for slowing the spread more effective and easier. There is very strong evidence at this point that SARS-Cov-2 is susceptible to the same seasonality factors as influenza. We're seeing this demonstrated all around the world simultaneously in warmer climates, from Mexico to sub Sahara Africa to hotter countries in Asia. It's why none of the major cities in Latin America are seeing the kind of infection rates as NYC or Milan (or as Wuhan previously did). It's why sub Sahara Africa isn't getting hammered (despite plenty of international traffic and trade, including previously from China, that should have massively spread it). It's why India still isn't seeing a massive explosion in cases, as has been feared since the beginning of the outbreak in China. Check out: Mobile & Birmingham & Montgomery Alabama, the Western handle of Florida, Jackson Mississippi, look at other cities in Louisiana that didn't hold Mardi Gras (and one assumes those cities still got a burst of their cases from the Mardi Gras spread event).
    - _vn5r 7y ago
      Latin America is not testing people Nearly enough. That’s the main reason for low counts. In my country, it is only possible to be tested if you say you were in direct contact with the current 4 confirmed cases (1 deceased), and they would have to confirm that too.
fspeech 7y ago
Singapore has thorough testing and contact tracing. They also take quarantine extremely seriously.
- notadev 7y ago
  And they only have ~5 million people to deal with. Easier to contain a virus in a city-state as small as Singapore.
  - fspeech 7y ago
    Why is that true? They are densely populated. Fewer people also means fewer resources: for example they couldn't supply themselves with masks.
thkim 7y ago
This is probably before the virus was better understood. Some argue that the virus can be spread by the host 48 hours before a symptom is developed. Whether true or not, what's so difficult about everyone wearing a mask just to be on the safe side? Is it because there isn't enough masks to wear every day? It's fine with wearing same mask every day as long as it can contain droplets from spreading outside of virus host.
- stubish 7y ago
  Given the lifespan of the virus on various surfaces, reuse seems fine in any case. If you need to go out every day, cycle between 3. Weekly shopping, just one.

adventured 7y ago

It's also beyond much of the US to implement 80-90 degree temperatures that dramatically limit the ability for SARS-Cov-2 to spread as in Singapore. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3551767 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3551767 See: Hawaii, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, much of California and a lot of the warmer south. Which are all seeing between extremely low and low localized per capita transmission levels and hospitalizations, despite the very lagged (and overall mediocre) US response. The Las Vegas metro area will be 80 degrees on Wednesday. Take a look at their deaths and hospitalizations (despite having millions of people). With their international traffic, vast number of casinos and casino workers, slow speed at which they shut it all down and the initially lagged testing rates, they should be absolutely buried in Covid cases and deaths. They're anything but and they're seeing no big surge in cases. These temps are the reason why the experts are hopefully anticipating the infection rates to rapidly bend down in the coming weeks, and perhaps peak in May or June. Even very informed people like Bill Gates have spoken publicly about being hopeful about this (see his recent Ted Connects talk, it's about an hour long and almost exclusively about this situation). It's the seasonal temperature increase (and to an extent humidity) factor. edit: I understand why some people don't like these facts, I understand the emotional response. The numbers don't lie: hotter climates in the US are not seeing the surge in cases, they're not seeing the same hospitalization rates and as a consequence they're not seeing the deaths as in the other climates like NY, NJ, MA, IL, CT, MI. Check out all the cities in Texas (huge population), their metro areas, and look at the per capita rates of infection, hospitalization and death. Then compare.

bsder 7y ago
> See: Hawaii, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, much of California and a lot of the warmer south. Which are all seeing between extremely low and low localized per capita transmission levels and hospitalizations, despite the very lagged (and overall mediocre) US response. And yet Lousiana is getting pounded because of Mardi Gras. And Florida is likely to follow due to Spring Break. No state yet has evidence that they have turned their curve over from the standard R0. And, last I checked, practically every state was on the same trajectory past the 100th case.
- adventured 7y ago
  Hotter temperatures do not guarantee the cessation of all possible transmission of SARS-CoV-2, it impedes it in relation to the increase in temperature (and also ideally humidity, particularly indoors). It helps make everything else you might do for slowing the spread more effective and easier. There is very strong evidence at this point that SARS-Cov-2 is susceptible to the same seasonality factors as influenza. We're seeing this demonstrated all around the world simultaneously in warmer climates, from Mexico to sub Sahara Africa to hotter countries in Asia. It's why none of the major cities in Latin America are seeing the kind of infection rates as NYC or Milan (or as Wuhan previously did). It's why sub Sahara Africa isn't getting hammered (despite plenty of international traffic and trade, including previously from China, that should have massively spread it). It's why India still isn't seeing a massive explosion in cases, as has been feared since the beginning of the outbreak in China. Check out: Mobile & Birmingham & Montgomery Alabama, the Western handle of Florida, Jackson Mississippi, look at other cities in Louisiana that didn't hold Mardi Gras (and one assumes those cities still got a burst of their cases from the Mardi Gras spread event).
  - _vn5r 7y ago
    Latin America is not testing people Nearly enough. That’s the main reason for low counts. In my country, it is only possible to be tested if you say you were in direct contact with the current 4 confirmed cases (1 deceased), and they would have to confirm that too.

fspeech 7y ago

Singapore has thorough testing and contact tracing. They also take quarantine extremely seriously.

notadev 7y ago
And they only have ~5 million people to deal with. Easier to contain a virus in a city-state as small as Singapore.
- fspeech 7y ago
  Why is that true? They are densely populated. Fewer people also means fewer resources: for example they couldn't supply themselves with masks.

thkim 7y ago

This is probably before the virus was better understood. Some argue that the virus can be spread by the host 48 hours before a symptom is developed. Whether true or not, what's so difficult about everyone wearing a mask just to be on the safe side? Is it because there isn't enough masks to wear every day? It's fine with wearing same mask every day as long as it can contain droplets from spreading outside of virus host.

stubish 7y ago
Given the lifespan of the virus on various surfaces, reuse seems fine in any case. If you need to go out every day, cycle between 3. Weekly shopping, just one.