Singapore's Covid-19 response have been lauded and criticised throughout this very long fight.
But one perspective that never really gained too much traction in the conversation is the possibility that Singapore massively overreacted to the entire crisis.
Until now.
At least one university student, whose socialising had been disrupted, expressed this sentiment.
He even emailed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to share his thoughts.
On Sept. 2, 2020, PM Lee shared them with the nation in Parliament.
According to PM Lee, the student complained that our reaction to Covid-19 was “one of the greatest overreactions to a public health issue”.
As proof, the student pointed out that the hospital systems were "far from overwhelmed".
This is perhaps in reference to early fears that hospitals might be overwhelmed if case numbers rose too fast.
The student went on to suggest that herd immunity was the way to go, imploring PM Lee to let young Singaporeans “do us the service of achieving herd immunity”.
PM Lee then pointed to the experience of other cities devastated by Covid-19.
Earlier in his speech Lee also pointed out why Singapore refused to go down the herd immunity route:
"... that would have meant many Singaporeans getting ill, and perhaps thousands dying, especially the old and vulnerable. We were determined not to go down that route. We did our utmost to contain the outbreak to keep Singaporeans safe"
Herd immunity
Coincidentally, a country that did embark on a quest for herd immunity, Sweden, recently released some figures on the process.
According to CNN, only 7.3 per cent of people in Stockholm had developed antibodies to fight the disease by late April.
For the whole country, that number rose to 15 per cent.
Sweden, however, had predicted around 40 per cent by that time. Furthermore, around 70 to 90 per cent is needed to achieve herd immunity.
CNN noted that Sweden's death rate was higher than its neighbours.
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Image from CNA