This study examines the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test accuracy (i.e., sensitivity and specificity) on the progression of the pandemic under two scenarios of limited and unlimited test capacity. We extend the classic susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered model to incorporate test accuracy and compare the progression of the pandemic under various sensitivities and specificities. We find that high-sensitivity tests effectively reduce the total number of infections only with sufficient testing capacity. Nevertheless, with limited test capacity and a relatively high cross-infection rate, the total number of infected cases may increase when sensitivity is above a certain threshold. Despite the potential for higher sensitivity tests to identify more infected individuals, more false positive cases occur, which wastes limited testing capacity, slowing down the detection of infected cases. Our findings reveal that improving test sensitivity alone does not always lead to effective pandemic control, indicating that policymakers should balance the trade-off between high sensitivity and high false positive rates when designing containment measures for infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, particularly when navigating limited test capacity. Copyright: © 2022 INFORMS.

Introduction: Despite the high prevalence of mental health disorders, professional help seeking was often unsought, worsening impairments in overall functioning among those who experienced them. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the online HOPE intervention on help-seeking attitudes and intentions among young adults 18 to 24 years old in a University in Singapore. The study also described the process evaluation of the online HOPE intervention. Method: The study adopted a parallel two arms RCT. Outcome measurements measured at baseline, post-test and two-month follow-up were (1) recognition of depression, (2) barriers of help-seeking, (3) help-seeking intentions (4) attitudes about interventions, help sources, medications and (5) participants' perceptions about the intervention. Results: At post-test, intervention group had significantly lower acknowledgement of depression as stress. At two months, control group was significantly more concerned about side effects of medications. There were no significant differences in all barriers of help-seeking between groups, pre and post intervention. The intervention group had greater acknowledgement of antidepressants, tranquilisers and antipsychotics. Thematic analysis revealed four main themes. Discussion: There was high baseline recognition of depression. Improvements in help–seeking intentions were partially attributed to decreased help-seeking barriers. Implication for practice: The online HOPE intervention could be promptly implemented for young adults to enhance the identification of mental health disorders, early help-seeking and recovery. Nurses played an important role in patient education, and online interventions are especially crucial during this Covid period which mandated social distancing. [NCT04266119]. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.

On 23 January 2020, Singapore announced its first COVID-19 case, becoming one of the first countries to be affected by the virus outside China. The government acted swiftly, closed its borders, introduced circuit-breaking measures, and deployed public health and medical expertise in tackling the virus. Both technology and human resources were used extensively for contact tracing, quarantining, and pathogenic management. While all these measures helped in a successful containment initially, the second wave of COVID-19 cases emerged at the foreign worker dormitories, affecting thousands of workers. Singapore’s approach in tackling the situation shifted rapidly and began to involve civil society organizations and individuals in the fight against the virus. In this paper, we argue that while state-led technologies such asTraceTogether and Safe Entry helped in the techno-governance of bodies on the move, bottom-up digital solutions, and innovative engagement of individuals are equally crucial in building a smart and resilient Singapore.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262033

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262752