Calvin Cheng: Beating the pandemic not about having zero cases; S’pore ranks 4th safest country

Singapore – Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Calvin Cheng took to Facebook to highlight the differences between overcoming Covid-19, which New Zealand recently did, and staying safe amid the pandemic, something Singapore is excelling in, based on a Forbes report.

As someone who frequently expresses his views on social media, Mr Cheng shared the Forbes report on “The 100 Safest Countries in the World for Covid-19” and his explanation differentiating Singapore from New Zealand based on the findings.

According to the 250-page report conducted by the Deep Knowledge Group, Singapore ranks fourth globally, behind Israel, Germany and Switzerland, respectively. New Zealand ranks ninth. The study involved 130 quantitative and qualitative parameters over 11,400 data points, Mr Cheng noted in his post shared on Monday (June 8).

“I am sure people are surprised, since the news these days is about New Zealand,” said Mr Cheng. New Zealand has reported no new cases for more than two weeks and officially moved to level one, the lowest of their four-tier alert system for the pandemic on June 8 at midnight (12:00 GMT). As a Covid-19-free nation, social distancing is no longer required and limitations on public gatherings are lifted; however, borders are to remain closed to foreigners.

Mr Cheng noted in his post that how a country handles the pandemic is not only about beating the virus. “It is about balancing lives and livelihoods, about suppressing the virus with the least damage to the economy,” he added.

New Zealand is facing their greatest recession in 160 years, Mr Cheng explained. Terrible damage came upon her tourism-dependent economy. “Their Prime Minister, a media darling, is by no means assured of reelection, as her coalition was already handling the economy badly before the pandemic,” said Mr Cheng.

Meanwhile, Switzerland and Germany rank high because of their resilient economies. Mr Cheng pointed out that their lockdowns or border closures, while not as strict compared to other countries, did less damage to livelihoods.

“So my fellow Singaporeans, beating the pandemic is not about having zero cases now.”
With Singapore not falling far behind in terms of safety and resilience, Mr Cheng highlighted the importance of the economy’s prosperity and survival while battling the two- to three-year fight against Covid-19.

Mr Cheng is confident that the “strong and competent” Government, with the help of Singaporeans, would tide through the crisis successfully.

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