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Omicron in Singapore means home isolation and self-testing ‘without anyone checking on you’
- Singapore is emphasising personal responsibility in living with Covid-19
- But there is scope to loosen the rules further, says a health care expert
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When Nathanael Yau tested positive for Covid-19 two weeks ago in Singapore using a home rapid antigen test kit, referred to as ART, the 30-year-old knew he would need to cancel all activities outside and immediately self-isolate.
With 88 per cent of the population having had two shots of a Covid-19 vaccine and 56 per cent receiving a booster, since October 11, patients with mild or no symptoms have been told to recover at home.
This is to free up health care capacity as the country transitions to living with the virus. One-third of children aged five to 11 have taken at least one shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine though such vaccinations are not compulsory to attend school.
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Yau, a project manager, ended up being among three of five household members who came down with the Omicron variant, which is now the dominant strain in the city state of 5.45 million people. His brother was the first to fall ill after returning from a 10-day holiday in Australia, where he made use of one of the country’s 24 quarantine-free travel arrangements for vaccinated passengers.
There was some initial confusion over whether Yau would need to report his infection to the authorities (he did not have to, as he had only mild symptoms and had received two shots of the Moderna vaccine). But he managed to find the rest of the protocols online on a government website.
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“There is a lot of responsibility placed on the people who fall sick. You must be responsible and stay home and isolate yourself without anyone checking on you,” Yau said.
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