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<Why We Are Easing Cautiously>
We have been able to bring down the number of new community cases significantly. But we have not eradicated the virus. No country has done so, even with the tightest of lockdowns.
All the countries that have been beaten the virus to low levels have seen a rebound in cases when they resumed activities - more when they resumed precipitously; less when they proceeded cautiously.
We must expect cases to rise in Singapore too when we resume activities. It's not because of the clusters amongst the migrant workers which are contained in the dormitories and under control. The fact is that there are still hidden cases circulating amongst the general population. For example, when we did a test of around 16,000 pre-school teachers recently, we detected 8 cases. There are bound to be other undetected asymptomatic cases in the community. That's why we have to move cautiously.
This means that not everything can re-open at the same time, and tough decisions have to be made on which ones go first. For example, since we have permitted physiotherapy sessions, should we now also allow spas and massage centres to re-open (as has been requested by some business owners)? We would have liked to say "yes" to all the requests. But each time we ease up on something, we introduce many more face-to-face contacts and people movement within the community. That in turn means higher transmission risks and the likelihood of more infections.
I know many are disappointed by our cautious approach. We are prioritising both lives and livelihoods. I hope you appreciate and understand that we are trying our best to resume activities safely for Singaporeans, while keeping infection rates low.
With a phased re-opening, we will have a better control of the overall situation. If new cases were to emerge, we will be able to detect and ring-fence them quickly. At the same time, we will continue with our pro-active testing of different segments of the population. If all goes well, then we will move to the next phase around the end of June, and resume more activities then.
Meanwhile, the Government will continue to provide assistance to businesses that are unable to open, as well as to households and workers. DPM Heng Swee Keat will announce the details of these support measures in his 4th Budget of the Year in Parliament tomorrow.
We have been able to bring down the number of new community cases significantly. But we have not eradicated the virus. No country has done so, even with the tightest of lockdowns.
All the countries that have been beaten the virus to low levels have seen a rebound in cases when they resumed activities - more when they resumed precipitously; less when they proceeded cautiously.
We must expect cases to rise in Singapore too when we resume activities. It's not because of the clusters amongst the migrant workers which are contained in the dormitories and under control. The fact is that there are still hidden cases circulating amongst the general population. For example, when we did a test of around 16,000 pre-school teachers recently, we detected 8 cases. There are bound to be other undetected asymptomatic cases in the community. That's why we have to move cautiously.
This means that not everything can re-open at the same time, and tough decisions have to be made on which ones go first. For example, since we have permitted physiotherapy sessions, should we now also allow spas and massage centres to re-open (as has been requested by some business owners)? We would have liked to say "yes" to all the requests. But each time we ease up on something, we introduce many more face-to-face contacts and people movement within the community. That in turn means higher transmission risks and the likelihood of more infections.
I know many are disappointed by our cautious approach. We are prioritising both lives and livelihoods. I hope you appreciate and understand that we are trying our best to resume activities safely for Singaporeans, while keeping infection rates low.
With a phased re-opening, we will have a better control of the overall situation. If new cases were to emerge, we will be able to detect and ring-fence them quickly. At the same time, we will continue with our pro-active testing of different segments of the population. If all goes well, then we will move to the next phase around the end of June, and resume more activities then.
Meanwhile, the Government will continue to provide assistance to businesses that are unable to open, as well as to households and workers. DPM Heng Swee Keat will announce the details of these support measures in his 4th Budget of the Year in Parliament tomorrow.
