Singapore may move to second phase of reopening at end-June: Lawrence Wong

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

A phased re-opening will give the government better control of the situation. If new cases emerge, it will be easier to detect and ringfence quickly.

The government plans to continue with pro-active testing of different segments of the population.

Mr Wong said he expects coronavirus infections to rise in Singapore when activities get resumed as there are still hidden cases in the general population.

For instance, 16,000 teachers were recently tested, and eight cases were detected ahead of the country preparing to open pre-schools on June 2.

There are expected to be other undetected asymptomatic cases in the community and the government needs to move cautiously, he said.

Mr Wong said Singapore's government will continue to provide assistance to businesses that cannot open as well as households and workers. Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat is expected to announce the details of these measures in a Budget speech in Parliament on May 26.

BLOOMBERG