Covid-19: Singapore on knife-edge, community cases can go either way in coming weeks, says Lawrence Wong

• Education Minister Lawrence Wong urged all residents to cut back on social activities
• He said there is a chance of getting the situation under control by the end of May
• But one lapse could lead to a super-spreader event, he added
• He acknowledged that tightening of safety measures are inconvenient, especially to those celebrating holidays in May

SINGAPORE — The number of Covid-19 community cases in Singapore could “go either way” in the next few weeks, but there is a chance the country can get the situation under control by the end of the month, Education Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday (May 11). 

Giving an update on the Covid-19 situation in Parliament, Mr Wong, who is the co-chair of the Government's Covid-19 task force, said: “We are now on the knife-edge and our community case numbers can go either way over the next few weeks. 

“We have a chance of getting things under control by the end of the month. But as we know from experience, it only takes one lapse or one irresponsible action for an infection to happen; and that infection may end up being a super-spreader event in the community.”

To prevent the latter outcome, he said, residents should work from home, cut back on social activities and interactions, and stay home as much as possible during this period. 

Community cases have risen over the last few weeks with the emergence of new clusters, including one at Tan Tock Seng Hospital that has 43 cases. 

The authorities have since tightened safe distancing measures, with Mr Wong announcing last week that Singapore is returning to Phase Two of reopening the economy. Singapore had been in Phase Three since Dec 28 last year. 

Mr Wong acknowledged that the tightening of safety measures is posing considerable inconvenience to Singaporeans. Some of these include reducing the maximum number of people who can gather from eight to five and limiting social gatherings to two a day.

Mr Wong noted that there are a number of public holidays in the month of May and people have had to adjust their plans and activities. 

“I know this must be very hard for our Malay-Muslim community — having to observe these strict rules during Hari Raya and to curtail your normal family visits for a second year. Likewise for the Buddhist community during Vesak Day. 

“I thank everyone for taking the latest measures in your stride and seek your cooperation to abide by the rules — not just with the letter of the law but also the spirit of it.” 

Mr Wong noted, however, that Singapore is in a stronger position today than a year ago, especially with regard to testing and contact tracing. 

About 35,000 swabs were tested every day in the past week and the laboratories have the capacity to process up to 73,000 tests every day, he said. 

Singapore’s vaccination programme is also a “major game changer”, he added. 

The country is in a much safer position than last year with most of its older population, healthcare and frontline workers being vaccinated, he noted. 

“Our experiences over the last year have shown that if we act swiftly to contact-trace, isolate, test, and if we all exercise individual and social responsibility, we can effectively suppress the spread of the virus. We’ve brought down infection rates in the community before and we can do it again this time.” 

He also urged residents not to spread fake news that can cause needless fear or foster divisions and suspicions. 

“Remember the virus does not respect ethnicity or nationality. This is not a Chinese virus or an Indian variant. This is a global pandemic — the virus and its variants are out there everywhere in the world,” he said.

“There is no place for discrimination, racism or xenophobia here. This is not Singapore and what we stand for. We must continue to look out for each other, so that we can all get through this together."

Mr Wong also said that there is a good chance Singapore can remain on track with its reopening plans if its residents do not become complacent and if more get vaccinated. 

He was responding to a question by Ms Ng Ling Ling, Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency, who asked whether there would be any changes to reopening plans after the tightened regulations end by May 30. 

“Once we cross the mark of 50 per cent of the population getting vaccinated, all the models and all the studies suggest that, then even if a cluster were to happen, the number of people infected will not be as large, it will be more contained, and we will be safer,” Mr Wong said.