Singapore — Finance Minister Lawrence Wong highlighted that Singapore must chart its own path in reopening efforts and living with endemic Covid-19.
Speaking at a ministerial forum organised by the Nanyang Technological University’s student union (NTUSU) on Tuesday (Aug 24), Mr Wong said Singapore was taking a “step-by-step” approach in opening up to avoid risks of outbreaks.
“We have good vaccination outcomes, but we still want them to be better, especially among our seniors, and we do not want to take the risk of having huge outbreaks that will overwhelm our hospital system,” he said.
He admitted there were two opposing stances on the pace and extent of Singapore’s reopening, with one side deeming it too slow compared to other countries while the other saying it’s too fast and risky.
Given Singapore’s high vaccination rates, currently, at 78 per cent, one group sees the country’s pace to be too slow. It should be reopening more aggressively like Britain, the United States and other European countries.
Meanwhile, the opposing side deems it safer to uphold stringent safety measures and bring the number of Covid-19 cases close to zero before reopening, such as what is being done in China and New Zealand.
However, Mr Wong noted that the latter approach of perpetual lockdowns was not feasible.
“It will not be possible to eradicate the virus. We probably have to live with Covid-19 for a long time,” he said.
“So we have to learn to live with the virus — like how we live with other infectious diseases, including influenza and chickenpox.”
The high vaccination rate gives Singapore the confidence to reopen safely, said Mr Wong.
“Vaccinated persons are less likely to fall sick when they catch the virus. So even if daily infections were to rise, we should be able to keep the number of severely ill or ICU (intensive care unit) cases at an acceptable and stable level.”
Simultaneously, such steps to reopening cannot be taken with a “big bang,” he added, as this may cause hospital cases to spike.
He referred to Britain, where most of the population is vaccinated, including up to 95 per cent of its elderly above 70 years old.
“Quite unlike us, they have managed to cover a very high proportion of their vulnerable seniors,” said Mr Wong.
In Singapore, about 82 per cent of seniors above 70 years old have completed the vaccination process.
“Because they already have much higher levels of underlying immunity and protection, many of these countries are more prepared to open up fully,” said Mr Wong.
He mentioned that Britain has a “Freedom Day” where it can let the virus run its course through the population.
Singapore is in a different position, said Mr Wong, noting it is one of the few countries that has succeeded in controlling the pandemic without straining the hospital system and keeping a low death toll.
“To get to the end of this pandemic with as little death and damage as possible, even as we progressively resume most of our normal lives” remains the priority, said Mr Wong.
The forum is an engagement event organised for students to voice their opinions on pertinent global trends and developments close to heart, noted NTUSU on Facebook.
The page also thanked Mr Wong on Wednesday (Aug 24) for “sharing candidly his experiences being the co-chair of the multi-ministry taskforce and Singapore’s strategy for tackling the virus as we transition into living with endemic Covid-19.”
A total of 600 students across Singapore’s autonomous universities joined the forum physically and virtually through Zoom.
The post added that they were able to share views over pertinent issues such as student life, job opportunities for fresh graduates, and the evolving economy. /TISG
Read related: Despite high Covid-19 vaccination rate, S’pore won’t reach herd immunity: Lawrence Wong
People queue overnight, sleep on streets, to book Sinovac vaccine appointment