Singapore's War On Covid Podcast: Singapore's mask U-turn and other Covid-19 lessons

Singapore is clearly living with Covid-19 now, as seen in this photo in late April 2022 at the Marina Barrage.

ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Synopsis: This podcast series is based on selected chapters from a book, detailing Singapore’s experience battling the Covid-19 pandemic. The book - written by journalists of The Straits Times and edited by ST’s executive editor Sumiko Tan - is titled In This Together: Singapore's Covid-19 Story and is available in major bookstores now. Details online: https://www.stbooks.sg/

In this fourth of six instalments, ST's executive editor Sumiko Tan looks back at the lessons Singapore learnt from fighting the pandemic.

Two, in particular, stood out: The need to quickly adapt its policies as more was known about the coronavirus in the first half of 2020, and how being prepared helped its fight.

Highlights (click/tap above): (Headphones recommended)

2:18 Two biggest lessons that Singapore's government learnt from the pandemic

4:25 Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reflects on the U-turn on wearing masks

5:03 Then-Health Minister Gan Kim Yong on the importance of changing national direction when assumptions are no longer valid

6:20 Minister Lawrence Wong says the multi-ministry task force was guided by science but had to be flexible

9:00 The big bet on buying vaccines early during the coronavirus outbreak

14:53 Lessons on how to tweak future lockdowns

15:25 Using Covid-19 as a rehearsal for the Big One that is yet to come, the dreaded Disease X

Produced by: Sumiko Tan (sumiko@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis and Hadyu Rahim

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim

Follow Singapore's War On Covid podcast series here:

Channel: https://str.sg/wuJa