Singapore PM Pushes for Living With Covid, Without the Fear

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wants to push on with the strategy of living with Covid-19 without being paralyzed by fear, weighing in on a divisive issue about the pace of opening up a trade-reliant economy with one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. 

Lee said in a televised address that Singapore can’t stay “locked down and closed off indefinitely,” but at the same time there will be “quite many Covid-19-cases for some time to come.” He used the 24-minute speech on Saturday to call for unity for the next few months and address a split in wider society between keeping Covid-zero measures in place and reopening quickly in step with other advanced economies. 

Singapore recently reimposed some social curbs in an attempt to clamp down on the rising number of daily infections that have neared 3,600 and threaten to overwhelm the healthcare system. Even though 83% of the population is fully vaccinated, the country has struggled to return to a life of normalcy amid growing anxieties over a constantly-changing plan to live with the virus. 

“We need to update our mindsets. We should respect Covid-19, but we must not be paralyzed by fear,” he said on Saturday. “Let us go about our daily activities as normally as possible, taking necessary precautions.” 

Lee’s comments came before the government taskforce unveiled new measures to expand booster shots as well as bar unvaccinated people from malls, food centers and local attractions. These locations are seen as high-risk and the measures appear to be a way to prompt more people to follow through with inoculation. 

Drastically Simplify 

Now that the disease has become more manageable with a higher vaccination rate, Lee said the government should “drastically simplify” its health protocols, including procedures on what should be done if people test positive or come in contact with someone infected. 

With vaccination, the disease has become more treatable with 98% of cases turning out to be mild and people can benefit from recovery at home. Still, Lee warned that with cases expected to continue rising, so will deaths with around 100 patients to become seriously ill if there are 5,000 cases in a day.

“We may have to tap on the brakes again if cases again grow too fast, to protect our healthcare system and healthcare workers,” he said. “But we will be better able to cope with future surges” as healthcare capacity improves and immunity levels increase, Lee added. 

New Normal 

Lee painted a picture of “a new normal,” possibly after three to six months, where Singapore will ease off restrictions, have light social distancing measures in place and cases come down to hundreds a day. Some countries in Europe have reached this state but they have “paid for it dearly, losing many lives along the way,” he said. 

The new normal would also mean hospitals working at normal capacity and Singapore residents resuming “things we used to do, and see crowds again without getting worried or feeling strange,” Lee said

This was Lee’s first televised address after Bloomberg reported last month that senior officials in the ruling People’s Action Party wanted the prime minister or another senior member to take charge of a taskforce handling the country’s pandemic response and show decisiveness. 

Singapore Virus Debate Sowing Rare Disquiet in Ruling Party

There have been concerns over the mixed messaging among those who lead the nation’s virus response that has confused businesses and residents, stirring some divisions in Singapore society on how to live with the pathogen. Some ministers on the taskforce have later said the messaging could be better, while stressing that all decisions are made collectively and reflect a fluid situation on the ground.

Lee had emerged frequently during Singapore’s battle with the pandemic last year to address the nation, from announcing plans to shut schools and workplaces and pledging economic aid to expressing hope on some curbs to be lifted soon. This year, more space was given to the taskforce to regularly brief the press on Singapore’s latest measures to tackle the spread of the virus. 

Here are some other comments Lee made during the speech:

Inoculating children

“We are closely tracking the progress of vaccine trials on children in the U.S. We will start vaccinating children as soon as vaccines are approved for them, and our experts are satisfied that they are safe. This will likely be early next year.”

Current surge in cases

“At some point, the surge will level off, and cases will start to decline. We don’t know exactly when, but from the experience of other countries, hopefully within a month or so. As pressure eases off on the healthcare system, we can relax restrictions but we will have to do so cautiously, to avoid starting a new wave again.”

Here are some new directives from the virus taskforce:

• Booster shot program to be expanded to people 30 years and older as well as healthcare and frontline workers who received their two-dose regimen six months ago. Invitations start from Oct. 9.
• Home recovery to be made the default care arrangement except for partially or unvaccinated people above 50 years old, vaccinated citizens aged 80 years and older, children less than a year old.
• Unvaccinated people won’t be allowed to visit shopping malls, food courts and attractions beyond restaurants from Oct. 13. Only groups of two vaccinated people will be allowed to visit these locations.
• The government will distribute ten test kits from Oct. 22 to each household in Singapore.

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