Managing the Covid-19 crisis in Singapore is a "massive operation" that requires many workers on the front lines, as well as behind the scenes, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the People's Action Party (PAP) e-rally yesterday.
Highlighting the Government's aim to create 100,000 jobs and training places for Singaporeans, he noted that these would include service jobs to manage the virus situation, with "tens of thousands" brought in to organise testing.
PM Lee was participating in the hour-long session on the PAP's Facebook page with National Development Minister Lawrence Wong and other party candidates Janil Puthucheary, Low Yen Ling and Nadia Samdin.
Mr Wong noted that the battle against the virus requires a "massive system", adding: "People see only the front end in testing and tracing... But you mobilise a whole group of people to do swabbing, you've got laboratory set up, you need technicians in the labs, people in the healthcare system to take care of many patients."
The key for the authorities is to control the infection rate while progressively allowing activities to resume safely, said Mr Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force for Covid-19. They have also stepped up the capacity for testing and tracing, with the army of skilled contact tracers able to "ring-fence and isolate" infected individuals to prevent the virus from spreading.
There was a lot of pressure on the Government during the circuit breaker to open up the economy quickly, said Mr Wong, who stressed that this was done cautiously and pointed to places such as Melbourne and Israel that had lifted their lockdowns only for cases to flare up again.
He added: "It's also very critical that Singaporeans do not become complacent. If we take that attitude (go out to celebrate and have parties), no amount of testing and tracing will save us. All of us must remain disciplined and vigilant."
But he is confident people can pull it off, as he pointed to the volunteers who have stepped forward and "innovation happening on the ground", such as telemedicine and remote vital signs monitoring systems.
PM Lee vowed yesterday that the Government would do "our damnedest" to prevent Covid-19 from coming back, adding that the hard work over the last six months must be maintained if Singaporeans are to stay safe.
He added: "To be able to build all that up within six months... shows the amount of effort which has gone in, and capability which we have developed, the focus which we must maintain if we are going to stay safe because that is what enables us to open up safely."
