Three 'brakes' to slow down infection rate, curb transmission: Minister

Instead of a Freedom Day, which saw the near-complete lifting of measures in some countries, or a complete lockdown, Singapore has opted for a more calibrated approach in living with Covid-19.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said yesterday that this means allowing some activities and putting restrictions on others.

"If we can take that approach, and live with some inconsistencies, then we can tackle the real challenge - which is how can we progressively reopen while keeping severe disease incidence rate and death rates as low as possible."

To this end, Singapore is using three "brakes" to slow down the rate of infections and curb transmission of Covid-19 here: border restrictions, vaccinations and safe management measures.

Addressing concerns about the country opening up to international travellers, Mr Ong said border controls were important when Singapore had few local cases. This was to avoid importing large numbers of individuals from countries that had high infection rates.

"The most common question I've come across is: Why are we reopening borders, yet not allowing larger groups for dining? This is because the brake of border control is no longer very relevant."

The situation has changed, he said. After going through big transmission waves for many months, the pandemic situations in many countries have stabilised, the minister said, with infection rates in some of them even lower than in Singapore. "So we can open up travel lanes with these countries safely," said the minister.

To make it safer, Singapore allows only travellers who are fully vaccinated, with pre-departure or on-arrival polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.

"This is why imported infection numbers are very low every day, and it's a very small fraction of total community infections."

He noted the benefits to the population in opening up Singapore.

"First, Singaporeans can travel for study, work or leisure, with their family.

"Second, we can start to bring in much needed workers to complete our Build-To-Order (BTO) projects, to complete public infrastructure and other projects that we need," said Mr Ong, who was speaking at a press conference by the multi-ministry task force tackling the pandemic.

The minister noted that with the easing of border measures, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) can start allowing in more domestic workers to relieve the stress faced by many families. It will increase the entry of foreign domestic helpers from the current 200 a week to 1,000 a week, said Mr Ong.

Moving to the second "brake" - vaccinations and boosters - the minister noted that around 20,000 individuals are taking their booster shots every day. Close to 660,000 people have taken their booster vaccination shots to date.

He added that 94 per cent of the eligible population have either taken or booked slots for their jabs. Among the 6 per cent who remain unvaccinated, 70,000 are seniors.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has decided to include the Sinovac vaccine under the national vaccination programme to encourage more people to get vaccinated.

On the third "brake" - safe management measures - Mr Ong noted that some people feel that the rules do not seem to be consistent across settings.

"We understand everyone misses doing something they love, whether it is meeting friends, going to parties, playing sports or dining out... The businesses too want to do business properly, and not have to receive financial assistance. We share all these desires, and we will eventually get there."

He said the inconsistencies, and the confusion across settings, are difficult problems to solve.

"We know the extreme solutions are easy to understand... Freedom Day, where all restrictions are removed, or locked down, where everything is disallowed.

"Those are very easy to understand, very consistent. But both are not the outcomes, nor the solutions we want."

Mr Ong said Singapore is taking a middle path between the extremes, which entails allowing some activities, but placing restrictions on others.

"Inevitably, this will give rise to comparisons and then perceptions of inconsistencies," he noted.

"But if we are prepared to live with some inconsistencies, then we have a basis to move forward. Some can move forward first, others wait for their turn next, but eventually, everyone will get there."

The differentiated measures for the vaccinated and unvaccinated are very important, he added.

This is to help limit the exposure of unvaccinated individuals, especially seniors, to settings where they could be infected.

If this can be done successfully, then Singapore can progressively open up, with testing as a further layer of protection.