Singapore is on a knife-edge, and the country's Covid-19 community case numbers can go either way over the next few weeks, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday, as he urged people to continue observing safety measures and get vaccinated.
"We have a chance of getting things under control by the end of the month," he said.
"But as we know from experience, it only takes one lapse or one irresponsible action for an infection to spread; and that infection may end up being a super-spreader event in the community."
His comments came amid a worrying increase in cases here, with 13 new community cases yesterday, 11 open clusters, and 12 unlinked cases in the past week.
At least 10 different virus variants have infiltrated the Republic, and some of these could be driving infections here.
Vaccines are key to ending the pandemic, Mr Wong stressed.
With close to two million residents having received at least their first shot, vaccination will be extended to younger people from later this month, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19 with Mr Wong.
Both ministers were updating Parliament on the virus situation.
In response to the increased infections, Singapore has tightened its borders and rules on social gatherings since last Saturday, a day before Mother's Day, and ahead of Hari Raya Aidilfitri tomorrow and Vesak Day on May 26.
Mr Wong acknowledged that the safety measures, which include tighter restrictions on social gatherings and household visits, will pose "considerable inconvenience".
He said: "I thank everyone for taking (the latest measures) in your stride and I seek your cooperation to abide by them - not just with the letter of the law, but also the spirit of it."
About 1.8 million individuals here have received at least one dose of the vaccine as at Sunday, revealed Mr Gan. Of this number, about 1.2 million people have received their second and final dose.
Also, two in three people who are aged 45 and older who are eligible for inoculation have received their shots, or booked their vaccination appointments.
But this is not enough.
"Take-up has been encouraging... However, we need to continue to encourage more to be vaccinated, especially among the seniors. Given their age, they are the most vulnerable," Mr Gan said.
While vaccines do not work 100 per cent, they nonetheless significantly reduce the chance of infection, he pointed out.
He also said there have been 104 applications for financial assistance for those suffering from serious side effects related to the vaccines, as at May 3. Of these, 30 qualified for compensation, 45 applications were rejected and the remaining 29 are still pending.
Mr Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) asked if the vaccine programme here can include children under 16.
Initial information provided by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, whose vaccines are the only ones permitted here, did not include data regarding their use in younger populations, Mr Gan said.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was cleared for use by the United States Food and Drug Administration on Monday for children aged 12 to 15 on an emergency use basis.
Singapore's Health Sciences Authority is still assessing Pfizer-BioNTech's data to decide if its vaccine is safe for adolescents here, and will do so with Moderna's vaccine when data is submitted.
"We will share more details when the studies are completed. As for children below 12 years of age, clinical trials are still ongoing and may take more time before enough data is available," said Mr Gan.
With the pandemic still raging in many parts of the world, the fight against Covid-19 will continue for a while yet, he said.
"Our response has not always been perfect. But we have built many new capabilities to meet the new challenges as they emerge," he said.
"This ability for all of us to strive together is the most critical element in our response to Covid-19 that will make all the difference in the eventual outcome."
