SINGAPORE: As Health Minister Ong Ye Kung voiced serious concerns over the potential spread of mpox to Singapore, some Singaporeans are increasingly calling for reinstating work-from-home (WFH) measures to curb the virus’s impact.
During an update on Aug 17, Minister Ong acknowledged that while the immediate risk of a mpox outbreak in Singapore is low, the rapidly spreading virus in Africa is a cause for concern.
With no direct flights from the affected regions in Africa to Singapore, the current threat remains minimal. However, the virus is expected to spread to regions such as the Middle East and Europe, where Singapore maintains flight connections.
“This is a very worrying situation, especially for the African continent,” Mr Ong said on the sidelines of a skills and career fair in Bukit Canberra, Sembawang, “We should work on the basis that mpox will arrive in Asia.
Singapore will likely be one of the first places to see cases due to our flight connections.”
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body. A new sub-variant, clade I, has alarmed global health experts due to its ease of transmission through close personal contact.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years.
Minister Ong highlighted several factors Singapore must consider if the virus reaches its shores, emphasizing the importance of understanding the severity, affected demographics, and transmissibility of the virus.
He noted that while the clade II variant has a low fatality rate of 0.2%, the clade I variant poses a higher risk with a fatality rate between 3.5% and 4%.
“These are numbers recorded from Africa,” Mr. Ong stated. “When mpox comes to Singapore, with our healthcare system and our ability to treat cases, we hope to bring the fatality rate down significantly.”
Minister Ong also pointed out that the virus disproportionately affects children, particularly in Africa, where many are not vaccinated against smallpox.
Additionally, while clade II is primarily spread through high-risk s e x ual activities, clade I spread through close contact. However, no evidence suggests it spreads as easily as COVID-19 through airborne particles.
In response to the Minister’s comments, Singaporeans have taken to online platforms to express their concerns and advocate for the reinstatement of WFH measures.
On Reddit, users have shared their thoughts, with many humorously urging companies to remember the effectiveness of WFH in containing contagious diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Reddit comment by one user, which garnered nearly 500 upvotes, sarcastically reminded employers, “Big bosses please remember when the time comes that work from home used to be possible in containing the spread of contagious disease while keeping your company functioning.”
Another user echoed these sentiments, suggesting, “Very dangerous, very high risk. I think we should mandate WFH for every job that can be done remotely for the next 5 years to be safe. Thank you.”
The rising chorus of voices online reflects the public’s desire for caution and readiness, as memories of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact remain fresh in the collective consciousness.
With the mpox situation evolving, Singaporeans are keen to see swift measures to protect public health while maintaining normalcy in their daily lives. /TISG