Pro-business cautious reopening shows Singapore has come a long way from circuit breaker
The calibrated approach to resuming business activities is also a sign that the nation is ready for Covid-19 to become endemic
Singapore
FOOD and beverage (F&B) owners and gyms operators must have heaved a sigh of relief when the Multi-Task Force announced on Friday that dining in and indoor mask-off sports activities can resume as planned - but with adjustments - come Monday.
Many had probably feared the worst and expected an extension of the ban on dining in and closure of gyms as community infections crept up this week from the growing cluster at Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre.
The green light came as a bit of surprise because previous rises in local cases led to a circuit breaker last year and a roll-back to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) last month.
Why the change of heart? Vaccination.
To date, 49 per cent of the population in Singapore have received their first doses, and about 35 per cent are fully vaccinated, shared Health Minister Ong Ye Kung at the press briefing. But both him and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong reiterated the numbers are still not high enough so Singapore is not out of the woods yet.
Hence, the need to re-calibrate the reopening of dining in and reducing the number of diners to two per table instead of five as originally planned.
A further delay in allowing dining in to proceed next week announced at this stage would also have been unthinkable for some F&B operators because extra ingredients would already have been ordered and staffing beefed up to welcome back diners.
In the larger scheme of things, this calculated risk signals a bold pro-business approach to boosting Singapore's economy as the population gets vaccinated.
As Minister Wong said, the country cannot afford to "overreact to each and every new cluster" and pushing back the reopening until cases drop to almost near-zero for consecutive days might result in prolonged periods of closures that could result in more businesses folding.
The most recent Covid-19 support package for Singapore firms and workers for the four-week period of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) cost the government S$800 million. Going by that amount, any potential extension could work out to S$200 million a week - a hefty toll on the nation's coffers - with no guarantee some businesses might still go under when help dries up and companies are forced to stand on their own two feet after a prolonged period of closure.
F&B outlets and gyms cannot be closed in tandem with the fluctuating infection rates, noted Mr Ong; and next week's calibrated reopening can be seen as a move into the next phase as Covid-19 becomes endemic.
"We will have to live with it," he added, while adding the cautious opening is to allow Singapore to "buy time" while encouraging more people to get vaccinated so life and business activities can proceed with the new normal.
Because more than just job supports and government handouts, greater social responsibility - volunteering to get jabbed, mask-wearing and safe distancing - will ensure business disruptions like the circuit breaker and Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) become a thing of the past.
Further down the road, it will also lead to the resumption of other activities such as the reopening of borders and all that will go a long way in putting Singapore's economy back on track.
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