Following a doctor’s interview with States Times Review slamming the government for telling people not to wear a mask in public, four more doctors have spoken up against the “no mask” rule laid by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Led by Dr Colleen Thomas, a doctor in private practice, the four doctors signed a letter advising the public to protect themselves by wearing a mask:
“We know that the advice goes against what the MOH has been saying. Still, we are obliged to send out the warning because the burden of not doing so is too great to bear. As a doctor, how can I not speak out when I know that there is danger to people?”
The doctor herself contracted SARS in 2003 while treating patients, and her infected colleague’s mother died after contracting the virus.
The 4 doctors signed the letter warning Singaporeans that the government hospitals is not safe either:
“The infected are not always traceable and containable within hospital isolation rooms.”
Government officials have since attacked the 4 doctors saying their advice is wasting masks. NUS Professor Hsu Li Yang said:
“There is little evidence to show that wearing surgical or N95 masks in the community when well will protect the individual, much less home-made masks or scarves. They may instil a false sense of confidence, and deplete mask supplies unnecessarily.”
The Ministry of Health’s chief scientist Kenneth Mak said wearing mask is not important:
“Wearing a mask is not the most important thing to do to keep the coronavirus at bay.”