一小时睡觉窒息46次 (Breathing stopped 46 times in one night)

​Commentary by Prof Ronald Lee, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology, National University Heart Centre Singapore, and Professor in the Department of Medicine, NUS Medicine, highlighted that the influence of western eating habits and lack of exercise have led to more cases of obesity and sleep apnoea. The number of patients waiting to see a sleep doctor has also increased significantly. Prof Lee explained that diet control and alcohol avoidance are essential and that the patient should consider using a respirator mask, an effective treatment for sleep apnoea, or oral devices before considering surgery.

HSA: 26 didakwa kerana jual e-rokok, barang berkaitan antara Apr 2020 – Mac 2021 (HSA: 26 charged for selling e-cigarettes, related items from Apr 2020 – Mar 2021)

​Berita Harian cited a white paper published by NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health in 2021 that reported the global market for e-cigarettes has proliferated from around US$50 million in 2005 to over US$20 billion by 2019. It is expected to grow to US$34 billion by 2024, with tobacco transnationals owning a large proportion of the e-cigarette market.

2锻炼 防骨质疏松 (2 exercises to prevent osteoporosis)

Ms Yiu Xin Yi, Senior Physiotherapist, Physiotherapy, NTFGH, explained how osteoporosis occurs and stated that it is a myth that the condition is a result of ageing. She elaborated that osteoporosis is preventable with exercises. Exercise demo clips of chair push-ups and sit-to-stands were uploaded on SMDN’s FB page: https://bit.ly/3g2q4ba

Risk of catching Covid-19 from the mail extremely low, no cause for concern: Experts

A/Prof Natasha Howard, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), noted that research over the past few years on formite transmission of COVID-19, where someone catches the virus from contaminated surfaces or objects, indicates that touching surfaces is a much less important mode of transmission than breathing the virus in. She added that while it is always helpful to keep surfaces and hands clean, cleaning surfaces is unlikely to help very much in avoiding Omicron, which is transmitted primarily through contaminated droplets and small airborne particles.

Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, Division of Infectious Diseases, National University Hospital (NUH), and Department of Medicine, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, explained that catching COVID-19 from the mail is almost impossible as the virus would need to survive on the mail for the duration of the journey and not be rubbed off. He added that people should not be concerned about catching the virus from touching surfaces at all, as the risk of infection is much greater when going out to eat.

A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, SSHSPH, said that the only time to be concerned about mail as a vector for infection would be in countries still pursuing an aggressive zero-COVID-19 strategy and with no or little community transmission.

S’poreans going ahead with CNY plans despite Covid-19 surge, Chinatown businesses see boost in sales

​A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, Vice-Dean of Global Health and Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said that it would be best if the public could either avoid visiting elderly persons who are unvaccinated or take a swab test before doing so.

• The New Paper, 23 January 2022

S’pore Covid-19 story: In the same storm, in different boats, but going the right way?

A/Prof Jeremy Lim, Director of the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), said that the pandemic has been trying for everyone, but the intensity of struggle and the support provided were very different. However, he added that Singapore is moving in the right direction, in the sense that at least the harsh spotlight of inequalities has been shone and the public and policy makers are aware of 'invisible populations' and 'digital divides.' A/Prof Natasha Howard, SSHSPH, commented that in general, Singapore's policy decisions have been logical, evidence-informed, feasible, transparent and clearly explained.

A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, SSHSPH, commented that with extremely high vaccination and booster rates, COVID-19 is much less serious now. He noted that some people may see the remaining risk as being sufficiently high that the current measures should be in place for the long term, while others see the risk as low enough that people should retire most or all of them and treat COVID-19 like flu.

当局再次收紧医院和疗养院探访条例 访客赶在条例生效前探望亲属 (MOH re-tightens hospital and nursing home visit regulations, visitors rush to visit before measures kick in)

​政府再次收紧医院和疗养院的探访条例，一些访客赶在条例星期一生效前到医院探望亲属。各家医院已做好准备，协助访客通过电话和视讯方式探访亲属。受访疗养院则表示，这个周末的探访时段预约爆满。位于后港的太和观疗养院，中午就迎来探望亲属的访客。访客须提前至少两天预约探访时段，每次探访只限30分钟。

Children below 12 starting to form majority of COVID-19 cases admitted to hospitals: MOH

At a COVID-19 multi-ministry task force press conference on 21 January, A/Prof Kenneth Mak, Ministry of Health's (MOH) Director of Medical Services, shared that children below the age of 12 are starting to form the majority of COVID-19 cases admitted to hospitals. He noted both National University Hospital and KK Women's and Children's Hospital have reported seeing more children with COVID-19 and non-coronavirus-related respiratory symptoms who need to be admitted.

Prof Tikki Pang, Visiting Professor at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, commented that children are twice as likely as adults to infect one another at any given social interaction based on experience from previous pandemics.

• The Straits Times, 21 January 2022, Children aged below 12 starting to make up the majority of Covid-19 cases admitted into hospitals

• Lianhe Zaobao, 21 January 2022, 更多12岁以下儿童感染冠病 本月20日就有312名

• Lianhe Zaobao 22 January 2022, 前天增至312起 过去一周12岁以下染疫儿童倍增

• Lianhe Zaobao, 22 January 2022, 社论：家长应尽快让孩子接种疫苗

• Channel NewsAsia, Singapore Tonight, 21 January 2022, Prof Tikki Pang on rising COVID-19 cases among children aged below 12

• Today Online, 21 January 2022, KKH's Covid-19 study finds high antibody levels in children after they received 2 vaccine doses

• Mediacorp, 8world, 21 January 2022, 本地感染冠病12岁及以下孩童过去几周呈上升趋势

• The Straits Times, 24 January 2022,17,699 children aged below 12 infected with Covid-19 since pandemic started, 2,586 hospitalised

Do cloth masks protect against the Omicron variant?

Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, Division of Infectious Diseases, National University Hospital, and Department of Medicine, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, said that good cloth masks remain "very effective" as long as they are worn properly and associated with safe distancing and hand hygiene.

A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, added that after the Omicron wave has abated, the lifting of the mask mandate should be "seriously considered".

数码化与创新塑造未来医疗服务 (Digitalisation and innovation shape the future of healthcare)

​Lianhe Zaobao mentioned that Enterprise Singapore launched the Healthcare Open Innovation Challenge in November 2020 in partnership with five of Singapore’s public and private healthcare providers including National University Health System, National Healthcare Group and SingHealth. Seven winners were shortlisted to proceed with co-development of project solutions.

How to lower cholesterol levels: Experts explain why your diet or exercise routine isn’t working

​Prof Tan Huay Cheem, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology, National University Heart Centre Singapore, discussed the importance of screening for high cholesterol and how to keep one’s cholesterol levels low. He suggested screening from as young as 18 years of age for those who are born with genetically high cholesterol conditions, such as familial hypercholesterolemia, as they can develop coronary artery disease in their teenage years.

本地研究得出： 听力受损者死于心血管疾病风险增28% (Local study finds that the hearing impaired have a 28 per cent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease)

​A team from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine found that people who suffer from hearing loss have 13 per cent and 28 per cent increased risk of an all-cause and cardiovascular death respectively, and people with both hearing and vision loss have a 40 per cent and 86 per cent increased risk of an all-cause and cardiovascular death respectively. The study was based on 26 observational studies conducted in Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia involving more than 1.2 million participants.

Singapore’s Omicron wave –what you should know

​Prof Teo Yik Ying, Dean of NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said that it is clear that Singapore already has community infections that are driven by Omicron, which means Omicron is already circulating in the community. A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, added that it is more important to focus on the peak in severe cases, rather than overall case numbers. This peak will lag behind the overall case count, as it takes time for people to develop severe illness after infection.

Lianhe Zaobao also quoted A/Prof Jeremy Lim, Director of the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, who said that the number of cases is on the rise and it would not be surprising if the number of confirmed cases climbed further next week. He added that it is more important to look at hospital admissions and intensive care unit utilisation rate.

• Lianhe Zaobao, 20 January 2022, Page 4, 春节前病例或破3000起 专家认为无须收紧防疫 (Number of cases may exceed 3,000 before CNY; Experts believe that there is no need to tighten prevention measures)

'It's a miracle': Boy treated with $3m drug donated by public can now walk with support

​Two-year-old Devdan Devaraj who has spinal muscular atrophy can now stand and walk with support thanks to the almost $3 million donated by the public, which allowed him to seek treatment at NUH. Devdan was treated with Zolgensma, a one-time gene therapy treatment in September 2021.

In This Together: Singapore’s Covid-19 Story

​The Straits Times featured Mdm Lee Sock Lee, a COVID-19 survivor who was unvaccinated when she caught the coronavirus. Her condition deteriorated quickly and doctors made the call to transfer her to National University Hospital for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation(ECMO) treatment, which eventually saved her life.