Fourth Covid-19 support package to focus heavily on jobs: Heng Swee Keat

JOBS will be a key part of the fourth Covid-19 support package, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in a Facebook post on Monday.

The supplementary measures to be announced on Tuesday will give assistance to workers who want to upskill. New jobs will be created for those who are seeking employment, while traineeships and other opportunities will be established for those completing their post-secondary education this year.

"The Jobs Support Scheme has helped many employers retain their workers. But a number have lost their jobs, and some are worried that they might be retrenched. Those in your 40s and 50s are more anxious. We will help you turn anxiety into action," Mr Heng said.

The support package - to be called the Fortitude Budget - will also give more assistance to social sector agencies. This will allow the agencies to continue to help the vulnerable and better mobilise Singaporeans to contribute their time and monies as the pandemic continues, Mr Heng said.

President Halimah Yacob on Monday said she has given her in-principle support for the government to draw on past reserves for the support package. It will mark the second time past reserves are tapped for the government's Covid-19 response, after support was given for some S$21 billion to be drawn to fund previously announced measures.

Mr Heng said that although new community cases in Singapore have been brought down to single digits, the battle against Covid-19 is far from over. "We must continue to resource our healthcare system and frontline officers well. As we are re-opening our economy in phases, we will continue to support our viable businesses, especially those which are not able to open immediately."

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Singapore will be able to move to the next phase of re-opening around the end of June and resume more activities if all goes well, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said in a Facebook post on Monday.

"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," he said.