SINGAPORE - Singapore has started its journey towards living with Covid-19, with most restrictions expected to be lifted before the year ends.
What is behind this decision? What will the new normal look like? Is the timing right? Here is a look at Singapore s strategy to deal with the pandemic and how it could unfold.
Reopening with care
The restrictions are hurting the economy, said Professor Euston Quah, an economics guru at the Nanyang Technological University.
And Singaporeans are battle-weary, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said.
Everyone agrees on the need to open up, and that this must be done when the safety of people is assured.
More Covid-19 clusters likely as S pore reopens, but vaccination helps containment: Experts straitstimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from straitstimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
People who were unable to get the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines due to allergies will be able take the Sinovac vaccine for free at private clinics under the Special Access Route (SAR).. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Here are some questions answered:
On Singapore s response thus far
Q: Has Singapore done enough?
A: Compared with the rest of the world, Singapore has been a lot more cautious, Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore s Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said.
In May, when Singapore was tightening responses due to another wave of community outbreaks here, other countries such as Britain and the United States were actually starting to lift many of their restrictions even though on a per capita basis - which is the number of cases compared to the population size of each country - Singapore s outbreak was actually 10 times less than Britain and the US.