Without a team of capable ministers working closely together, Singapore would not have been able to implement all the measures it took to stop Covid-19 from spreading, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.

The Government, he added, would have lost the confidence of Singaporeans.

"You've seen this happen many times elsewhere," said PM Lee in his online Fullerton rally at noon. "Political leaders fail to act competently; voters lose trust in them. They are confused and dismayed; their faith in the whole system is shaken. People suffer greatly, and many die unnecessarily."

Singapore has avoided this and is now in a better position than before the circuit breaker, PM Lee said.

But warning against complacency, the Prime Minister added that the danger is very much alive and Singaporeans cannot afford to take chances.

Coronavirus cases have flared up in many countries after lockdowns were relaxed, and despite its best efforts, Singapore may be hit hard again if there is a second global wave of the pandemic.

"Keeping Covid-19 under control and our people safe, avoiding another lockdown, will take everything that we've got," PM Lee said.

"We will have to take many more difficult decisions, and find more creative, radical solutions to take care of our people."

In his speech, PM Lee outlined how Singapore had been preparing itself for such an outbreak and the difficult political decisions that had to be made since the start of the year.

The country has been preparing for a pandemic since 2003, when it was hit by the severe acute respiratory syndrome. Since then, the Government has not taken its "eyes off the ball", he said.

Even so, there was a scramble to deal with Covid-19 when the pandemic hit.

Still, the Government rose to the challenge, secured supplies of face masks, ramped up testing, and mobilised resources to deal with the infections in migrant worker dormitories, PM Lee said.

"All these extremely demanding tasks had to be performed in the fog of war. We had to decide and act urgently, based on incomplete information," he added.

PM Lee said that the public service, including healthcare workers, the Singapore Armed Forces and the Home Team, responded "magnificently", working with the multi-ministry task force headed by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.

The healthcare system has held up well, Singapore's fatality rate is among the lowest in the world and the situation in migrant worker dormitories is being cleaned up, he added.

PM Lee said: "We have managed to get to this stage not by chance, but by dint of immense effort... Crucial decisions had to be made. It was the ministers who made these decisions and are accountable for them."

One major decision the Government had to make was implementing the eight-week circuit breaker in April and May.

This was not a straightforward decision, because doing so would impact jobs and businesses greatly. But it would also save lives, PM Lee said.

PM Lee added that Mr Gan and Mr Wong had brought the matter to the Cabinet, which decided to go ahead with the circuit breaker.

Looking back, the Government acted just in time, before infection numbers shot up, he added.

"This was a political decision, not an administrative one. The ministers, and ultimately the PM and Cabinet, have responsibility," he said.

The purpose of the Fullerton rally is for voters to pause, take stock of what has happened, and refocus on what is at stake, added PM Lee, the People's Action Party's secretary-general.

Everything that the country has gone through since the beginning of the year has made clear just how important a good government is to fighting the virus, supporting the economy and getting out of this crisis intact, he added.

"This is what this election is about - whom do you trust to get you through the very difficult times ahead."

Government's battle against Covid-19