Trevor Noah: 'Singapore not messing around with unvaxxed Covid-19 patients'
Singapore government’s decision to make coronavirus patients pay for their medical expenses became a trending topic on The Daily Show.
The US late-night talk show, hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, picked up on Ministry of Health's rule where from Dec 8, all Covid-19 patients who are unvaccinated by choice have to pay their own medical bills if they are admitted to hospitals or Covid-19 treatment facilities.
"Singapore has decided to hit the unvaccinated where it hurts most - their wallets," said Noah, adding that the city state "isn't messing around".
“In America, if you say, you don’t want the vaccine, the government is like, ‘Please, please take the vaccine! Please, we’ll give you money!’" Noah added.
“Singapore is like, ‘Okay, okay, it’s gonna be like that?'" Noah quipped. "Oh, well, you best bring your cheque book to the hospital then, because those ventilators are by the hour, b****!’”
Singapore’s like the parents who actually do the s**t that you threaten your kids with, and this time they’re taking on people who won’t get a Covid shot. pic.twitter.com/PtMr0joJt0
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) November 10, 2021
While Noah commented the new rule was fair, he said the rule may have repercussions.
“Because using that logic, should alcoholics pay for their own transplant? Should overweight people pay for their own heart medication?” he said. “Where do you draw the line... it’s a sticky situation.”
At that point, Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng commented on our "universal healthcare" system.
"For them to come out and say, ‘You are going to pay for your own stuff if you take don’t take the Covid vaccine, we are going to treat you like an American," said the Malaysian-born Chieng, to which Noah questioned: "That’s a punishment in Singapore?”
“In Singapore, being treated like an American in the healthcare system is the biggest punishment you could give someone,” Chieng remarked.
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