PM Lee Hsen Loong interviewed by The Australian via Skype (Image by Ministry of Communication and Information)

In an interview with a newspaper down under called The Australian, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was asked about English news site The Economist labelling Singapore as the most successful country in dealing with the COVID-19.

In response, he said, “Well, we are flattered, but we are actually very deeply concerned for ourselves, as well as for the wider world we live in. It is a very difficult virus to eradicate. It is one which is dangerous enough to cause considerable human suffering and death, and even greater anxiety and fear. It has brought the whole economy to a halt in so many countries.”

He added that this problem is “going to catch fire in many countries, and is going to take a long time to burn out.”

In dealing with the outbreak, Singapore has implemented several strategies in hopes of curbing further the spread of COVID-19. PM Lee noted that in Singapore, as soon as the country received its first suspected case of COVID-19, all ministers sat together to respond to this case in a comprehensive manner. It is not only a problem for doctors and hospitals, but also for all parties, said the premier.

Besides that, social strategies were also implemented to reassure the public and maintain good communication on top of the national preparation for hoarding and ensuring that stocks are sufficient in Singapore. The country also has to make sure it can cooperate with other countries to keep the borders safe while not sacrificing essential trade.

PM Lee continued, “If I made an analogy – it is not that the tide has turned, it is that we put the dykes up. We are watching very carefully to see where water may leak in, and if you take your eyes off it for a moment, suddenly I have an outbreak.”

Trust and cooperation from all parties has helped Singapore curb the spread of COVID-19

When asked how Singapore has managed to successfully prevent the transmission within such a densely populated population, PM Lee responded, “I would not say we have successfully prevented. I think I would say so far we have reasonably successfully hindered the transmission.”

To hinder the spread of COVID-19, the government has encouraged people to take their own temperatures, said PM Lee. If they are sick, they are asked to see a doctor. In addition, PM Lee noted that the government has also set up a network of Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPC) – basically fever clinics to see and assess the people – which would allow for early detection and prevent an infected person from spreading the virus to others.

Another measure that has helped on this front is Singapore’s contact tracing method. PM Lee explained that once a case is detected, the relevant authorities work hard to contact trace.

“Who are the people you have met within the last two weeks, where have you been, what have you done, who may have been exposed to you. We make every effort to trace those people down as well, and to put the immediate contacts either on notice or on quarantine, depending on whether they have symptoms.”

He added that it is a labour intensive process, but it is helpful in preventing one single case from becoming many hundred cases, elaborating that the country has managed to contact trace several thousand of people already.

The third factor, said PM Lee, is that people are cooperative.

“When we tell people to introduce their Business Continuity Plans (BCP) and to go on to split shifts or to work at home, many companies are doing that. Many businesses have made these arrangements. People are working at home.”

He continued, “Times are hard for them but what to do, these are hard times and the government will do what it can to give some succour and help to the whole economy, and especially the most affected parts of the economy.”

PM Lee was also asked how many COVID-19 tests Singapore has carried out so far. He responded that while he didn’t have that information at hand, he knows that Singapore has the capacity to conduct a few thousand a day. He added, “We have been doing this now for two months, so it must be tens of thousands.”

On the subject of cooperation, the interviewer asked if the success PM Lee has had reflects on the social spirit of Singaporeans who seem to be more cooperative with their own government compared to people in other countries.

To this, PM Lee said, “Well, I think it is a great help for us that people listen to the government, they trust the mainstream media, they accept our explanations, and they appreciate the fact that we have gone to enormous lengths to be transparent and to explain to people in a timely way, what is happening, where they have to take precautions, what the prospects are going to be.”

He added that the daily press conferences held by the multi-ministerial task force charged with managing the outbreak as well as his televised broadcasts has served as reassurance to the people, which helps them understand just how serious the situation is.

“It helps to go into this with some social capital and some trust, but you have to build on that during the crisis. Because if you do not, and people start to doubt what they are told, or think that facts are being withheld, you will be in deep trouble very quickly,” he continued.

There is an enormous economic and human cost

The interviewer then asked PM Lee about Singapore’s border control measures.

Singapore first implemented a ban on travellers from Wuhan on 31 January, as announced by Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong. As of early March, travellers from Iran, South Korea, and northern Italy have also been banned from entering Singapore.

PM Lee said, when asked about strict travel restrictions for flights, “We have progressively tightened up. At first, arrivals from certain places were blocked, because these were places which had very high incidence of the infection, but now we have moved to the position where arrivals from all countries have to be quarantined when they arrive.”

“Effectively, it is almost a shutdown, except that our own people coming home from overseas are still able to come home, and we are bringing them back. Some of them are coming back infected, and we are tracking them closely and making sure they get identified and treated quickly.”

When asked about the nature of quarantine measures in Singapore, PM Lee replied, “It depends. In most cases, it is self-isolation, but we will check on you at random times and buzz you, and you have to prove that you are where you are supposed to be.”

The interviewer then asked the premier how long he thinks COVID-19 will last. PM Lee said, “I am not a specialist; I can only go by what I read and reasonable inferences from that. But looking at the behaviour of the disease and the way it is jumping from country to country, you can push it down within a country, but it has not disappeared worldwide, so I think this is going to be with us for quite some time.”

Again referring to China, he noted, “By dint of Herculean effort, they locked down drastically many of their cities, and brought their domestic cases to zero. But they are at risk now from imported cases from all over the world. So what do they do? Do they shut themselves off from the world, or do they carefully open up, knowing that this is going to let the virus back in?”

PM Lee also continued, “Their population is not immune to it yet, in very large numbers. Because even if a million Chinese have got the virus so far, that still leaves almost 1.4 billion who have not yet, and are still, in immunological terms, naive and at risk.”

He said that what can be hoped for is to control the spread of the disease, hold that position, and “hope and pray” that scientists come up with a vaccine or treatment within a year or two and in time for everyone to get out of this “without the doomsday scenario”.

“Either it is going to leave you with huge casualties or it is going to take forever, and to lock down forever,” he said, adding that he also thinks there is an enormous economic and human cost.

According to Gov.sg, Singapore has confirmed 23 new cases on 22 March which includes 18 imported cases that have travel history to Europe, North America, South America, and ASEAN. All except one were returning residents and Long Term Pass holders.

One person (Case 443) is linked to the cluster at boulder+ Gym, and two people are linked to previous cases (Case 442 is linked to Case 398; and Case 451 is linked to Case 404). Whereas, two (Cases 434 and 450) are currently unlinked.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

States Times Review Facebook page declared as Declared Online Location under POFMA

The Minister for Communications and Information has declared the States Times Review…

“Sacking” of the Lions – start of slow and painful transition

by Damon Yeo Of late, our national football team seemed to have…

【武汉冠状病毒】2月29日增四起病例 本地累计确诊病例破百

根据卫生部文告,截至2月29日中午12时,本地增四起武汉冠状病毒确诊病例,都与前日发现的Wizlearn Technologies感染群有关。 第99起病例时27岁男公民,与上述感染群有关联。他是在上月21日出现症状,25日和28日分别到家庭诊所和先驱诊所求诊。经确认与第93病例有关,为此在28日转介到国家传染病中心并立即隔离,同日经检测确诊。 在入院前,他大部分时间都待在位于裕廊西81街的住处。 第93病例是38岁男公民,也是上述公司的职员。 第100例病例时20岁男公民,与Wizlearn Technologies感染群有关。他在27日出现症状并在隔日前往求诊。经确认与第93病例有关,28日到国家传染病中心隔离,同日确诊。 第101例则与第93例有关,在29日早上确诊;第102例则是41岁的菲律宾籍工作准证持有者,是第101例的女佣。 上述四人近期都未曾到过中国、韩国大邱和清道郡。 这使得Wizlearn Technologies感染群之下的累计病例暴增至八起。第97和98例,以及此前的第93病例(38岁男公民)和95病例(44岁男公民)都和上述感染群有关。 72病患出院…

【工人党市镇会风波】五司下周五审理诉辩双方上诉

高庭在去年10月11日判决,工人党议员林瑞莲等人,需为阿裕尼-后港市镇会蒙受损失,承担法律责任。惟诉辩双方都对判决提出上诉。 由五司坐镇的上诉庭,将在下周五透过视讯审讯上述上诉案。此外,工人党议员等八造与白沙—榜鹅市镇会诉讼,也将在同日审理。 2018年10月初,高庭展开对工人党市镇会诉讼审讯,阿裕尼—后港市镇会(AHTC)和白沙—榜鹅市镇会(PRPTC)指责刘程强、林瑞莲、毕丹星等八造,必须对2011年5月至2015年11月期间,对第三方承包商的不当付款行为负起责任,并索偿3371万元。