Three factors to consider before Singapore starts reopening economy

Singapore

THE phased reopening of Singapore's economy will take into account virus case numbers, the global situation, and key enablers such as testing and contact tracing, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry taskforce on Covid-19.

To enable reopening, all firms will have to change work practices, said fellow co-chair and National Development Minister Lawrence Wong in Parliament on Monday.

The two ministers made these points on a day that Singapore saw another 573 new virus cases, taking the country's total to 18,778. Five of the new patients are Singapore citizens or permanent residents.

In a ministerial statement, Mr Gan laid out three conditions for reopening the economy.

First, community cases should fall to zero or single digits daily, with very low numbers of unlinked cases, for a sustained period. There must also be a fall in migrant worker cases.

If community cases stay low and migrant worker dormitory cases are under control by June 1, when circuit breaker measures are scheduled to end, "we can then consider further opening up", he said.

Second, in reopening borders, Singapore must assess the situation globally and for individual countries, looking at transmission rates and measures taken.

"For any reopening of our borders, we are likely to start small and selectively, and to continue to impose a mix of isolation and test requirements, to protect ourselves from new imported cases leading to community spread," he said.

Third, Singapore must "put in place a system to allow us to open up safely", Mr Gan said. Elaborating on points made earlier, he named testing and contact tracing as key enablers.

Singapore is working with private and public sector partners to increase testing capacity to up to 40,000 a day.

Even as this is being scaled up, a nation-wide testing strategy is being developed, said Mr Wong. This involves more extensive community surveillance, to detect unlinked cases.

Higher-risk and vulnerable groups, such as nursing homes and healthcare workers that have high touch-points with the community, will be prioritised in testing.

Testing will then progressively expand to the rest of the essential workforce and the broader community.

As for contact tracing, two technology tools have already been implemented: SafeEntry, to log entry and exit of visitors to business premises and venues; and TraceTogether, which identifies other users with whom a user has been in close contact.

The TraceTogether team is working with Apple and Google to make the app more effective. Solutions are being developed for the elderly and the young who do not have smartphones, with details coming soon.

Even after the circuit breaker measures are lifted, all firms will have to change their work culture and practices, said Mr Wong.

The construction industry, for example, will have to fundamentally change how activities are carried out.

"We will need a whole range of measures covering the work sites, the accommodation and transport of workers, as well as additional precautions taken by the workers themselves."

The need to change "applies to all sectors of the economy", he added. "Life after the circuit breaker will not be a return to status quo ante."

The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Manpower Ministry are engaging industry associations, business chambers and firms, to help them adapt to the new requirements,

Telecommuting will have to be a default option, extended to all staff. For those who cannot telecommute, strict safe management practices will have to be implemented. These include split team arrangements, staggered working and lunch break hours, and higher hygiene standards.

"Wherever possible, we should make full use of technology to enable the implementation of these measures," said Mr Wong.

All these safeguards must be in place before more workplaces can be reopened and more workers allowed to go back to work, he noted.

"When we do so, we will start with industries that are critical to the economy and to local employment, and that keep us connected to the world and global supply chains," he added.

Sectors that will have to wait include entertainment outlets, activities that attract crowds, or those that put people in close contact.

For dining in at F&B outlets, "we will have to assess the risks and consider very carefully". Similarly, religious gatherings and services may take some time to resume.

Mr Gan said that there are signs the circuit breaker measures are working. The average daily number of new community cases fell to 11 last week, down from 31 the week before. Of these, unlinked cases fell to an average of five, from 12 before.

But in preparation for an expected rise in cases, especially from worker dormitories, Singapore has rapidly expanded healthcare capacity, in terms of both facilities and manpower.

The number of isolation beds in public hospitals has risen to close to 1,500 as at May 2, from around 550 in January. The National Centre for Infectious Diseases now has over 500 negative pressure isolation beds, from around 100 previously.

As for intensive care unit (ICU) beds, the Republic has almost 150 vacant ICU beds and can quickly bring another 300 online. Public hospitals have put in place plans that will allow the addition of another 450 ICU beds by the middle of May, if needed.

Community care facilities for those with mild symptoms have been expanded, with more than 10,000 bed spaces currently.

Community recovery facilities for recovering patients have been set up too, with 2,000 such bed spaces, to be expanded to more than 10,000 by end-June.

To address concerns about healthcare professionals, who are being stretched by the situation, the Health Ministry has given public healthcare institutions some flexibility in deploying staff across institutions, and has looked to external sources to boost the workforce.