Read on Twitter
My hot take on Singapore vs. Hong Kong COVID responses is that in Hong Kong we cancelled school and we wear masks whereas in Singapore mask-wearing did not become de rigeur and they did not cancel school.
We both did similar (extremely large) amounts of testing. Neither of us did complete lockdowns. There;s a lot of cultural and demographic similarity too. We both go hit by similarly-sized 2nd waves of imported cases.
But in Hong Kong, effective R0 stayed pretty modest. In Singapore, however, they basically lost control and now have untraced local spread.
What& #39;s the difference? Their test-and-trace procedures and travel-restrictions are similar!
What& #39;s the difference? Their test-and-trace procedures and travel-restrictions are similar!
I think the difference is *probably* accountable to the two very obvious differences in how they& #39;ve responded:
Masks and schools.
Masks and schools.
This goes back to my repeated point.
Once you& #39;ve cancelled school you& #39;ve achieved a HUGE amount of social distancing. Kids are major vectors even if they don& #39;t get very sick, and also this forces tons of parents to stay home.
Once you& #39;ve cancelled school you& #39;ve achieved a HUGE amount of social distancing. Kids are major vectors even if they don& #39;t get very sick, and also this forces tons of parents to stay home.
But more than any of that, cancelling school creates a signal. It says, "THIS IS A BIG DEAL." It disrupts life for tons of families, forcing them to take notice. This sets off a chain reaction of unrelated behaviors; people adopt greater caution in the rest of their life.
Likewise, masks probably do actually reduce infection risk by reducing how much SARS-CoV-2 is being distributed around society.
But more than that, they serve as a social signal, reminding us all that these are unusual times demanding unusual precautions.
But more than that, they serve as a social signal, reminding us all that these are unusual times demanding unusual precautions.
