Singapore – Members of the online community are apprehensive about the recent announcement by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong that the Covid-19 situation in Singapore was “under control” and the climb in confirmed cases was “within expectations”.
On Monday (June 8), the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19 held a virtual conference to share some highlights on the development of the pandemic within the community. Mr Wong, who co-chairs the task force with Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, confirmed that there had been an increase in the number of daily cases in the community, a week after the relaxation of circuit breaker restrictions on June 2.
The Ministry of Health reported on Sunday (June 7) that the average daily total of new cases in the community doubled from four to eight in the last week. Mr Wong noted that the increase in number was partly due to the stepped-up testing regime of the Government. “On the whole, our assessment is that the situation over the past week remains under control, and the new daily cases are within expectations,” he said.
The minister also highlighted comparisons made by the public regarding the limitations on house visits yet the lack thereof in public transport. “I think we need to better understand that the setting and risks are very different,” said Mr Wong. He noted that with people being allowed to return to work or return to school means “inevitably, there will be more people using public transport”. He admitted that it would be difficult to maintain social distancing in such scenarios.
The mandatory wearing of face masks and limiting talking when in public transport was set in place as an extra precaution to address the issue. “With these additional precautions, we are able to minimise the risk further,” said Mr Wong.
With the total number of cases approaching 40,000 in Singapore, there was concern online about whether the situation was truly under control.
One person, using fire as an analogy, asked whether the situation was really under control. Many focused on the numbers and that they don’t lie about the ongoing crisis.
Included among the comments was the topic of elections, with netizens saying the announcement was a way to ease more restrictions that limit social and business activities and open up for the polls.
Watch the announcement here:
https://www.facebook.com/gov.sg/videos/277960526946686/?v=277960526946686
Read related:
S’pore online community says “there is no consistency in daily Covid-19 assessment”