PM Lee pushes for living with covid, without the fear

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks to a health worker at a Covid-19 test site set up at a Housing & Development Board (HDB) public housing estate in the Ang Mo Kio area of Singapore on Sunday, July 25, 2021. Faced with a surge of cases from clusters related to karaoke lounges and a fishery port, authorities announced tighter controls, including a stoppage of eating at restaurants until Aug. 18.

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.

Customers at a cafe on a near empty street in Singapore, on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. Singapore’s Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said earlier this week that the country is committed to reopening, and that recently reimposed curbs are to ensure the health system can handle an increased number of daily cases.

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.

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 old, 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.

Photo: Bloomberg