Even as young people strive to overcome the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak, they must not lose sight of the big picture, said President Halimah Yacob yesterday.

This includes the fact that Singapore's economy is in the process of restructuring, and that new markets and opportunities will open up.

"Sometimes we look at the subset of issues facing us, but we forget the bigger picture: the various initiatives that are being embarked on to help the economy to grow," she said.

"We started restructuring the economy before Covid-19, and that effort is ongoing... And that is the picture that we also need to look at."

The President was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a dialogue with young leaders from Youth Corps Singapore.

Although many such events have gone online since the outbreak began, yesterday's session was conducted in person at the Istana.

There were around 20 participants, who were seated at least 1m apart and wore masks except when they were speaking.

One participant was Mr Chin Jun Wuen, 21, who started the online community SGExams for students to share notes and help one another with homework.

It has since expanded its scope, and now also organises volunteer projects for young people to give back to the community.

"When Covid-19 hit, the students were really quite affected because they had to switch to online learning, and some didn't know how to adapt," said Mr Chin, an undergraduate.

In response, SGExams organised an online "muggathon" to help students study together in an online space.

It also worked on volunteer projects, such as distributing care packs to cleaning staff at MRT stations.

Madam Halimah also spoke at an event organised by interfaith group Humanity Matters yesterday afternoon.

Called The Majulah Assembly, the event featured an online chat between six young people from different religious communities about living with the outbreak through a religious lens.

It was hosted by MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling.

In a video message, the President noted that many are turning to their faiths to find "strength, comfort and resilience" in the crisis.

Faith volunteers and humanitarian groups have also extended support to vulnerable groups in Singapore, as well as countries in the region, she said.

"I hope our community and faith leaders will continue to stay united," she added.

"As we face this common challenge of the pandemic, let us stand in solidarity with one another, to build a stronger and more cohesive Singapore."