MPs file about 40 questions on Covid-19 for Oct 4 sitting of Parliament as cases climb in Singapore

• Members of Parliament have filed about 40 questions on matters related to Covid-19 for Oct 4's parliamentary sitting
• Some have asked about the home recovery scheme
• Others have asked if Singapore’s healthcare system can cope with the shift to an endemic Covid-19 situation
• The Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill will get a second reading 

SINGAPORE — In light of the continued rise in Covid-19 cases in Singapore, questions on the Government’s handling of the pandemic look set to dominate the sitting of Parliament next Monday (Oct 4).

About 40 of the 153 questions filed for written and oral response are related to Covid-19, based on the parliamentary order paper released on Friday.

The questions raised by Members of Parliament (MP) range from the ability of healthcare services to cope with Covid-19 cases as Singapore moves to treat the coronavirus as endemic like influenza, the implementation of the home recovery scheme as well as whether the recent spike in cases will have a bearing on home-based learning for schools here.

Mr Yip Hon Weng, MP for Yio Chu Kang, has asked Health Minister Ong Ye Kung if Singapore will take into account the availability of Covid-19 management facilities as it shifts towards treating Covid-19 as endemic.

Workers’ Party (WP) MP He Ting Ru, of Sengkang Group Representation Constituency (GRC), asked if manpower for contact-tracing operations will be adjusted as Singapore makes this transition.

Several other MPs such as Dr Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar GRC) and Mr Xie Yao Quan (Jurong GRC) have asked about the efficacy of the home recovery scheme, which was made the default recovery scheme for fully vaccinated Covid-19 patients on Sept 18.

These include whether the scheme has resulted in the infection of family members of the Covid-19 patient, as well as the time taken to convey those unsuitable for the scheme to government care facilities.

Some Covid-19 patients self-isolating at home last month raised concerns over the lack of clear instructions from MOH on the scheme.

Other MPs such as Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio GRC) and Ms Hazel Poa, who is a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) from the Progress Singapore Party, also wanted to know if home-based learning will become the norm as cases spike.

Primary and special education schools are on home-based learning from Sept 27 to Oct 7 in light of the spike in Covid-19 cases. The Ministry of Education had said that this is to protect children under the age of 12 who are not yet medically eligible for vaccinations.

Besides questions over the coronavirus, MPs have also filed questions on various other topics such as whether the monetary reward for Paralympians will be similar to that of Olympians, as well as the entry of foreign domestic workers to Singapore.

SECOND READING OF FOREIGN INTERFERENCE BILL

Parliament will ALSO see the second reading of the Bill to enact the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, or Fica for short.

The Bill, which is aimed at discovering and preventing foreign interference in Singapore’s politics, has attracted criticism from some organisations such as Maruah, Think Centre and Facebook since it was introduced in Parliament on Sept 13.

The opposition WP had filed amendments to the Bill this week, calling for changes to the draft law so that it will allow greater judicial oversight over the proposed executive powers, as well as a “more precise scoping” of such powers to prevent abuse, among other changes.

Mr Leong Mun Wai, NCMP from Progress Singapore Party, also filed a petition calling for further consultation and scrutiny of the Bill.