The Singapore government recognised more than 100,000 individuals for their outstanding contributions to the fight against COVID-19 with special national COVID awards. Among the recipients were Duke-NUS Governing Board members Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, Professor Ivy Ng and Professor Fong Kok Yong, who in their roles as Director of Medical Services at the Ministry of Health, Group CEO of SingHealth and Deputy Group CEO respectively, led and coordinated the frontline healthcare response to the virus. Mak received the top COVID-19 National Award, the Meritorious Service Medal, while Ng and Fong received the Public Service Star.
Fellow Governing Board member Dr Fidah Alsagoff, who is the joint head of the Enterprise Development Group and head of Life Sciences at Temasek International, also received the Public Service Star for his role in securing diagnostic equipment.