Posts tagged ‘Singapore’


COVID-19 stats’ update, April 16

16.04.2020

Don’t worry, I won’t make this too regular, but as I had done some more number-crunching of the available stats during the daytime, I thought I’d share them. I鈥檝e noticed that some countries update their test numbers on a less regular basis, e.g. France, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland, though Worldometers now has updated ones since my last COVID-19 post. France鈥檚 test figure hasn鈥檛 changed, so we can safely conclude that its infection rate as a percentage of tests done is lower than what鈥檚 cited below. The same applies to Singapore.
   New Zealand has dipped below 2 per cent, finally, but thanks to rounding it鈥檚 cited as 2路00 per cent below. These figures include what Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced an hour ago. Happily, the US has started to see a fall since I last did these figures鈥攖here鈥檚 one post I didn鈥檛 write even though I had the calculations ready (it was too late at night for me to compose something cogent). Goes to show how quickly the landscape changes.
   I had overestimated the number of tests Sweden had done: it turns out they haven鈥檛 increased in number at the same rate as the fortnight before, though my use of 75,000 in the previous table wasn鈥檛 far off. Despite my overestimation, their infection rate continues to rise.
   The UK has also risen but not at the same rate, though judging by Twitter there, some are questioning whether deaths in aged care facilities are being included.
   Germany should be happy with its rate going from the 9s into the 7s.

France 147,863 of 333,807 = 44路30%*
Spain 180,659 of 650,755 = 27路76%
UK 98,476 of 398,916 = 24路69%
USA 644,089 of 3,258,879 = 19路76%
Sweden 11,927 of 74,600 = 15路99%
Italy 165,155 of 1,117,404 = 14路78%
Switzerland 26,336 of 199,000 = 13路23%
Germany 134,753 of 1,728,357 = 7路80%
Singapore 3,699 of 72,680 = 5路09%*
KSA 5,862 of 150,000 = 3路91%
New Zealand 1,401 of 70,160 = 2路00%
South Korea 10,613 of 538,775 = 1路97%
Australia 6,462 of 377,024 = 1路71%
Hong Kong 1,017 of 116,273 = 0路87%
Taiwan 395 of 49,748 = 0路79%

* Test number has not been updated


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COVID-19 infections as a percentage of tests done: April 13 update

13.04.2020

I can cite these COVID-19 calculations (infections as a proportion of tests done) with a bit more confidence than the last lot, where many countries鈥 testing figures had not updated. I see the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has released its total test numbers now, and they show a pretty good result, too.
   Compared to my post of the 7th inst., there are improvements in France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany, while Spain has shown a marked and positive improvement (from 39路58 per cent to 28路25 per cent).
   The UK鈥檚 delay and its initial reliance on herd immunity, with sycophants up and down the country agreeing, is showing up now as its number grows slightly, from 20路4 per cent on the 7th to 23路88 per cent with the latest data.
   The US鈥檚 numbers are holding fairly steadily with an increase of 0路8 per cent since the 7th (to 19路78 per cent).
   Sweden鈥檚 total test figure is one of two inaccurate ones here, having remained unchanged since the last tables, which obviously cannot be right. I estimate they have done around 75,000 tests so far, which would bring the figure to 13路98 per cent, fairly close to the 7th鈥檚, rather than the 19路16 per cent that the Worldometers鈥 table would have me calculate.
   Also statistically similar are Switzerland, South Korea, Australia and Hong Kong, though Hong Kong鈥檚 total test figure is also inaccurate (unchanged from the 7th). Singapore is showing a rise with the reports of community transmission. New Zealand is showing a small drop (2路71 to 2路15 per cent), though the percentage change here is less than what the US鈥檚 is.
   Taiwan continues to see its percentage decline with another 8,000 tests done and only an additional 17 infections since the 7th鈥檚 post.

France 132,591 of 333,807 = 39路72%
Spain 169,496 of 600,000 = 28路25%
UK 84,279 of 352,974 = 23路88%
USA 560,433 of 2,833,112 = 19路78%
Italy 156,363 of 1,010,193 = 15路48%
Sweden 10,483 of c. 75,000 = c. 13路98%*
Switzerland 25,449 of 193,800 = 13路13%
Germany 127,854 of 1,317,887 = 9路70%
KSA 4,462 of 115,585 = 3路86%
Singapore 2,532 of 72,680 = 3路48%
New Zealand 1,349 of 62,827 = 2路15%
South Korea 10,537 of 514,621 = 2路05%
Australia 6,359 of 362,136 = 1路76%
Hong Kong 1,010 of 96,709 = 1路04%*
Taiwan 393 of 47,215 = 0路83%


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COVID-19 per capita: April 2 update

02.04.2020

I had to see how we were tracking on total COVID-19 infections alongside other countries on a per capita basis, and here’s the latest update (source also linked above). I knew Switzerland was doing badly, but not this badly. I know I haven’t been consistent with my previous post鈥檚 country selection, but I don’t want this becoming an obsession.

Spain 2,227路1
Switzerland 2,057路5
Italy 1,828
Germany 931路6
France 873路6
Netherlands 795
USA 651路7
Sweden 490路7
UK 434路8
Australia 202路2
South Korea 194路6
Singapore 171路3
New Zealand 165路7
Hong Kong 102路4
Mainland China 56路7
Saudi Arabia 49路6
Japan 18路8
Taiwan 14路2
India 1路5

   I said in a recent post that a lot of the Asian territories have done well because of a community response. Another thing Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have in common: a lot of people descended from Chinese who fled the mainland in 1949, and have a mistrust of anything the Communist Party says. If the CCP said Dr Li Wenliang was a stirrer, then that would automatically have these places thinking: shit, there might be a pandemic coming. That could account for their numbers being on the lower half, and for their general decrease in new infection numbers. (I realize Singapore just had a big jump. Anomalous? Or were things not tracking downwards?)


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The team approach

31.03.2020

At the end of the last century, the National Government announced its Bright Future programme. Their research had identified that one thing holding back our national competitiveness was our devotion to the team rather than the individual, when in fact there have been many times New Zealand individuals have made immeasurable contributions and had not been f锚ted. It compared us with the US, where someone like Bill Gates鈥擨 seem to recall he was held up as an example鈥攃ould be recognized by many as an innovator, while the equivalent Kiwi wasn鈥檛 generally known. One of the first moves was to knight Angus Tait, the Christchurch entrepreneur.
   These Kiwi pioneers are still around鈥攑eople like Dr Sean Simpson of LanzaTech, for instance, using bacteria to consume carbon monoxide and turning it into ethanol鈥攂ut other than news programmes, they鈥檙e not part of our mainstream, and part of me wonders if they should be. They are doing work that should be rewarded and recognized.
   However, the team spirit that New Zealand exhibits all the time, and admires, such as the All Blacks, the Black Ferns, or yachting鈥檚 Team New Zealand, could help with the COVID-19 pandemic, as it鈥檚 invoked in our response. The four-week lockdown ordered by the New Zealand government has, from what I see out there, been generally accepted, even if I鈥檝e publicly Tweeted that I鈥檇 like to see more testing, including of all those arriving back on our shores, including the asymptomatic. (I note today that the testing criteria have been loosened.) The places held up to have done well at 鈥渇lattening the curve鈥, such as Taiwan, have managed it because, it is believed by the Financial Times and others, there is a community response, and, I would add, a largely homogeneous view when it comes to being in it together, helped in part by experience with the SARS outbreak, and possibly by the overall psyche of 鈥榃e have an external threat, so we have to stick together.鈥 Each territory has a neighbour that it鈥檚 wary of: Taiwan looks across the strait at the mainland, since there hasn鈥檛 really been an armistice from 1949; Singapore has Malaysia as its rival; and South Korea has North Korea.
   Across Taiwan, there have been 13路5 cases per million population, or a total of 322 cases; New Zealand is currently sitting on 134路5 per million, or 647 cases. Singapore is on 158路7 per million, or 926 cases; South Korea, which is now seeing a fairly low daily new case increase, is on 190路9 per million, or 9,786 cases.
   I support the Level 4 approach in principle, and having the lockdown, and while we aren鈥檛 accustomed to the 鈥渆xternal threat鈥 as the cited Asian countries, we are blessed with the team spirit that binds Kiwis together. We are united when watching the Rugby World Cup or the America鈥檚 Cup as we root for our side, and the unity is mostly nationwide. There are some on the fringe, particularly on Facebook, based on what others have said, with ideas mostly imported from foreign countries that are more divisive than ours.
   On that note, we might have been very fortunate to have the national culture that we do to face down this threat鈥攁nd not have any one person standing out as we knuckle down together. Even those who are seen regularly delivering the news鈥攖he director-general of health, for instance鈥攄o so in humble fashion, while our own prime minister goes home after we go to Level 4 and answers questions in her Facebook comment stream via live video. Even if economically we aren鈥檛 egalitarian, culturally we believe we are, and it seems to be keeping us in good stead.


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