Trust is 'most precious resource' in Singapore's Covid-19 fight: PM Lee

Trust has probably been the most critical factor in Singapore's pandemic response - and the nation must learn from Covid-19 and not let lessons from it go to waste, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

These include upholding Singapore's standards of medical excellence and further developing its expertise in public health.

He was speaking at the Singapore General Hospital's (SGH) Lecture and Formal Dinner 2022, which was held at Shangri-La Singapore.

Addressing about 300 guests on site, as well as about another 1,000 gathered online, PM Lee cited a study in The Lancet which found that higher levels of trust in the government and among the population were associated with greater compliance with Covid-19 restrictions and higher vaccination rates.

"In fact, by this measure, trust levels mattered much more even than the quality of healthcare and access to universal healthcare.

"I do not believe this means a good healthcare system makes no difference - it is absolutely necessary. But it does show how crucial trust levels in the society are to public health and healthcare outcomes," he said, adding that Singapore is fortunate to be a high-trust society.

He said strong public trust has been built up over the decades between Singaporeans and the Government.

This involves trust that the Government has the best interest of Singapore and Singaporeans at heart, that the Government is competent and will make the right decisions on behalf of Singaporeans, and that every citizen will play his or her part.

"This trust is a most precious resource. It is the fundamental reason why Singaporeans were able to come together during the pandemic, instead of working against each other," said PM Lee.

He cited four examples of this: People here abiding by "burdensome" safe management measures, patiently enduring repeated rounds of easing and tightening, going for vaccinations and booster jabs, and exercising personal and social responsibility.

"In other countries, a precaution as simple and essential as wearing a mask became a heated point of contention between citizens... Fortunately, in Singapore the opposite happened," he noted.

PM Lee said that a big part of this was due to the public's trust in the healthcare system here, which in turn was based on three things.

First, trust that healthcare workers here are professional, and know their job well.

Second, that they are dedicated and selfless, committed to the care, treatment and well-being of their patients.

Public health, he pointed out, focuses on the health of the overall population and not of individuals. The priority is to benefit as many people as possible.

That is why, even though the polymerase chain reaction tests are more sensitive, Singapore replaced them with the antigen rapid tests for most cases, to pick up and isolate infectious cases faster and more cheaply. This made a bigger impact on disease transmission.

Third, that the healthcare system is open and honest with the public.

For instance, said PM Lee, during the vaccination campaign, the Health Ministry regularly reported statistics on serious adverse events.

He said: "Some may be tempted to think that it would have been easier to keep things quiet, and avoid causing unnecessary alarm with bad news. It would have been expedient and convenient, but it would have been very unwise.

"If we kept quiet, it might work once, or twice. But rumours will spread, people will gradually lose faith in the system, and we will eventually pay a high price - the loss of public trust."

He noted that taking responsibility for mistakes and striving to put things right is essential to strengthening public trust, especially during crises when stakes are high.

PM Lee said there is a need to continue nurturing trust in the healthcare system during normal times, by always maintaining high standards of competency, commitment and transparency in the system.

In the next crisis, there will then be a "deep reservoir of trust" that can be drawn upon, he added.

"And, of course, even when the going gets tough, and especially when the going gets tough, we must continue to live by these cardinal values," he said.

"We cannot thoughtlessly revert to the status quo ante after this crisis."