Phase Three of Singapore's reopening could last for a year or more: Gan

PHASE Three of Singapore's reopening could last for more than a year, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong in Parliament on Wednesday, in response to a question from Tampines Member of Parliament Cheng Li Hui.

"To recap, Phase Three is not a return to the pre-Covid status quo, but a new normal which will last until such time the rest of the world also has the virus under tight control or when effective treatments or vaccines are widely available," he said.

"We must prepare ourselves for a Phase Three that could last for a prolonged period - potentially a year or more."

To Ms Cheng's question on what factors are taken into account when deciding on the maximum number of people allowed for gatherings, weddings and other events, Mr Gan said that these include the frequency of activity, potential risk factors inherent to the nature of the event, and whether safety measures can effectively mitigate these risks.

Risk factors for weddings are quite different from those for regular dining, he noted, including the fact that wedding guests, being friends and family, "would naturally have the tendency to want to socialise and mix across groups".

Key enablers that could allow more activities to resume, and potentially at higher capacity limits, include pre-event Covid-19 testing and strengthened contact-tracing capabilities, Mr Gan added.

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"Our objective in Phase Three is to reach a steady state of permitted economic and social activities until an effective vaccine or treatment is widely available. If we can put in place more enablers and risk-mitigating measures that allow for further reopening and scaling up of activities, we will."

But if conditions worsen, targeted measures must be taken, Mr Gan added. "Should there be a spike in cases, we need to respond swiftly and decisively. We cannot rule out the need to reimpose measures or introduce new measures in order to keep the virus under control."