曾以为癌症是绝症而产生恐惧 三阴性乳腺癌生存者鼓励女性做检查 (Previously thought cancer was a terminal disease – Triple-negative breast cancer survivor urges screening for women)

​Lianhe Zaobao reported on a NCIS patient who survived triple-negative breast cancer. Dr Lim Siew Eng, Senior Consultant, Department of Haematology-Oncology, NCIS, commented that the risk of relapse for triple-negative breast cancer is low, and it could be considered as full recovery if there is no symptom for more than five years.

• Shin Min Daily News, 24 September 2020, Page 8
  

Beauty Sleep

​Dr Ronald Lee, Senior Consultant, NUHCS Department of Cardiology, shared that chronic sleep deficiency is associated with an increased risk of hypertension, heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. He cautioned that our immune system deteriorates with sleep deficiency, and people with less than five or six hours of sleep a day are especially at risk of developing high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. 

公共希望聚会增至10人为限 专家：解封第三阶段应继续强制戴口罩 (Public hopes that gatherings cap limit will be increased to 10, Expert: Mandatory mask wearing should continue in Phase 3)

​A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases and Co-Director of Global Health at SSHSPH, opined that while the cap for group gatherings could be increased from five, the cap should not be hastily doubled to prevent super-spreading. A/Prof Hsu urged that the practice of mask wearing should remain mandatory even as Singapore enters Phase 3 with the relaxation of restrictions.  

• Lianhe Wanbao, 24 September 2020, Page 4

学前教育中心：防疫措施 不受戴口罩年龄上调影响 (Pre-school centres: Precautionary measures not affected by increased age to wear mask)

​A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases and Co-Director of Global Health at SSHSPH, opined that the adjustment of the legal cut-off age for children to wear masks to six years old and above, up from two years old and above, will not increase the risk of COVID-19 infection since wearing an ill-fitting mask will not prevent infection.  

• Lianhe Wanbao, 24 September 2020, Page 5

NUHS harnesses tech to help manage hospital facilities

​NUHS embraces drones, touch-free technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) to transform hospital operations. The suite of technologies includes:

• A security robot that will patrol the grounds of the hospitals namely NTFGH and NUH for a start
• 'Kenobi', a security and concierge robot that can conduct thermal scanning and check for SafeEntry;
• Drones for hospital inspections and security surveillance;
• IoT solutions to predict and prevent flood and fire incidents; and
• Touch-free technology in visitor and patient lifts to improve infection control

This will enable hospitals to move from preventive maintenance to predictive maintenance, improve operational efficiency, reduce risks and hazards, and build a future-ready workforce.

• The New Paper, 25 Sep 2020, Pg 2 (PDF, 11.6mb)
  

• Berita Harian, 25 Sep 2020, Pg 2 (PDF, 14.3mb)

• Lianhe Zaobao, 25 Sep 2020, Pg 1 & 4, .pdf (PDF, 35.5mb)

• Lianhe Wanbao, 24 Sep 2020, Pg 6 .pdf (PDF, 7.2mb)

• Shin Min Daily News, 24 Sep 2020, Pg 4.pdf ​(PDF, 10.1mb)

Balancing the need to reopen country and keep people safe

​On the reopening of Singapore in a safe and controlled way, Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, NUH Division of Infectious Diseases, and Prof Teo Yik Ying, Dean of SSHSPH noted that it was important that visitors entering the country continue to obey the safety measures in place. Prof Alex Cook, Vice-Dean (Research) at SSHSPH noted that testing travellers remain key to reducing risk.  

No need to ban food from firms whose products had virus traces: Experts

​Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, NUH Division of Infectious Diseases noted that instead of banning food imports from companies whose frozen food products have been contaminated with the coronavirus, it was more important that food processing plants Covid-safe standards. He noted that the main risk is to workers handling such food, not consumers. A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases and Co-Director of Global Health at SSHSPH, agreed that personal hygiene remains of critical importance in food preparation.

More making mid-career switch to nursing

​Mr Nigel Leong who is expected to graduate from NUS Nursing in 2022 is one of the 18 participants of Workforce Singapore’s Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) for Registered Nurses who have been sponsored by SingHealth Community Hospital. The former regional quality manager at a multinational company tendered his resignation and took a significant pay cut to join the PCP for Register Nurses (Degree) in April 2020. He decided to make the switch to nursing to contribute back to society.

研究指骨痛热症患者或对冠病免疫 本地专家：或出现与交叉免疫无关因素(Research shows dengue fever patients may be immune to coronavirus, local experts shared there may be factors unrelated to cross-immunity)

​Commenting on a new study that suggested exposure to dengue may provide some level of immunity against COVID-19, A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, Vice Dean (Global Health) and Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), shared that the study’s finding is inconsistent with the high number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, which had the highest number of dengue cases internationally last year. He added that the research outcome could be due to factors unrelated to cross-immunity. 

• Lianhe Wanbao, 22 September 2020

挑对运动鞋 防运动伤害 (Choosing the right pair of sport shoes to prevent injuries)

新加坡国立大学医院及国大医院复健中心足部诊疗师陈世昌接受《活得好》访问时，建议大家根据所进行的运动类型及需求，选择适合的运动鞋。

Get active to beat metabolic syndrome

​A study conducted by researchers from NUSMed Department of Medicine, led by A/Prof Reshma Merchant who is also Head and Senior Consultant at NUH Division of Geriatric Medicine, showed that metabolic syndrome affected almost one in two people aged 65 and above, with a prevalence in women than men above 70 years old. The researchers also found a weaker hand grip strength among seniors to be an indicator of metabolic syndrome. The findings were published in Dove Medical Press in July 2020.

Saliva testing for Covid-19 being assessed for wider use

​The use of saliva testing to detect Covid-19 is undergoing field tests in Singapore, as the health authorities assess if it can be scaled for widespread use. Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday that it is assessing factors such as consistency and integrity of sample collection, efficiency of laboratory processe and the ability to cater for high volumes of tests via pooled testing.

Saliva testing for Covid-19 being assessed for wider use

In response to queries on why Singapore has taken longer in comparison with other countries to trial saliva testing, Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, NUH Division of Infectious Diseases, said the lack of consistency in test collection methods may mean that it is difficult to standardise the collection process, in addition to the extra steps needed to process the tests in the lab which could affect the labs’ testing capacity.
 
ST also cited a study led by A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases and Co-Director of Global Health at SSHSPH, which had shown that saliva testing through secretions taken from the back of the throat can be a viable method for COVID-19 testing.

小鬼死因主动脉夹层本地罕见 医生：年轻患者不到一成 (Alien Huang died from rare heart condition, doctor says young patients make up less than 10% of local aortic dissection cases)

​Prof Tan Huay Cheem, Director of NUHCS, commented that aortic dissection is a rare disease and most local patients are male between 50-70 years old, with 77% of them having hypertension. Prof Tan added that the mortality rate of local patients with aortic dissection has dropped to 20% in recent years, and young patients make up less than 10% of the cases with majority caused by a genetic disease called Marfan syndrome.

本地新增病例11起 连续第二天创半年来单日新低 (11 new local cases hit a single-day low for two consecutive days in six months)

In the final session of the “Covid-19: Updates From Singapore” webinar series, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, praised Singapore and New Zealand’s containment of the Covid-19 outbreak and how the countries achieved a balance between public health and economical security.
 
A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, Vice Dean (Global Health) and Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), commented that there are still risks of community transmission from asymptomatic cases as seen in the resurgent outbreak in New Zealand.