Unlinked Covid-19 cases are still relevant: Ho Ching contradicts MOH decision

Singapore — In response to the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) decision to remove the number of linked and unlinked Covid-19 cases in its daily report, Ho Ching says the information is still relevant.

On Wednesday (Sept 8), MOH announced it would no longer report the number of linked and unlinked Covid-19 cases in its daily update as this is “no longer as relevant as before”, in line with the country’s plan to live with Covid-19.

As of Sept 6, MOH said that 81 per cent of the population is fully inoculated, making Singapore one of the most highly vaccinated countries in the world.

It will then revamp its daily report to include “salient issues” such as the number of severe cases that are hospitalised or in the intensive care unit to ensure “hospital capacity is not overwhelmed.”

MOH will also provide more information on large emerging clusters to inform the public of places to avoid or regulate their own activities.

Chief executive officer of Temasek Holdings and wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Ho Ching, took to Facebook on Thursday (Sept 9) to comment on the decision.

She shared an MOH Facebook post on Sept 5 regarding the revamp measures and describing unlinked numbers as “not as relevant.”

“We are not there yet,” said Mdm Ho, presumably referring to Singapore being a Covid-10 resilient nation.

“Unlinked cases are still relevant for the purpose of getting a sense whether we are having a runaway gallop or a steady trot,” added Mdm Ho.

Members from the online community agreed with her statement and wondered why the authorities were taking such information out of the Covid-19 status report.

“Totally agree that unlinked cases is a strong indicator of salient transmissions in the community and should consider keeping it in the daily report,” said Facebook user Vincent Ng.

“The unlinked cases gives us a very good indication of where we stand. We already have a good contact tracing team; hence reporting the unlinked cases should not be withheld,” added Facebook user Jude Danker.

Others noted that it was better to be as transparent as possible in reporting the Covid-19 situation in the country. /TISG

Read related: Ho Ching on booster shots for the young, “We can afford to wait a bit more”

Ho Ching on booster shots for the young, “We can afford to wait a bit more”