Singapore's War On Covid | The Straits Times podcast series

The “sights” and sounds of Singapore’s fight against Covid-19 so far come alive in a new podcast series by The Straits Times.

The podcasts are based on selected chapters from In This Together: Singapore’s Covid-19 Story, a recently launched book by The Straits Times.

The episodes are narrated by ST executive editor Sumiko Tan, senior health correspondent Joyce Teo, and health correspondent Timothy Goh, all of whom worked on the book.

Living with Covid-19 in Singapore and moving beyond

In this sixth and final instalment, ST's executive editor Sumiko Tan looks at how thousands of Singaporeans celebrated the country’s 57th birthday on Aug 9, 2022 at the Marina Bay floating platform. The day before, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had said in his National Day message that Singapore was in a much better place in its fight against the coronavirus.

Crisis Communication

In this fifth of six instalments, ST's executive editor Sumiko Tan looks back at how the government communicated its Covid 19 strategy in the first two years of the pandemic. This included bringing back the 1990s sitcom character Phua Chu Kang to persuade people to get vaccinated, and setting up a hotline call centre during the hurried switch to home recovery in late 2021 when the Delta variant raged.

Singapore's mask U-turn and other Covid-19 lessons

In this fourth of six instalments lasting till August 2022, 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. Hear excerpts from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and ministers Gan Kim Yong and Lawrence Wong.

Inside Singapore's Covid-19 War Room

In this third episode, ST's executive editor Sumiko Tan tells the exclusive story of how the decision-makers in Singapore's Covid-19 "war room" managed the pandemic and why it decided to be as transparent as they could with the public. Hear excerpts from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his ministers.

The global hunt for masks

In this second episode, ST's health correspondent Timothy Goh tells the story of how Singapore secretly and quickly despatched individuals and teams overseas from late January 2020, to procure masks and other essential items in the early days of the pandemic.

How 24 people saved one life

In this first episode of six instalments, ST's senior health correspondent Joyce Teo tells the story of the ordeal, that Madam Irene Tan went through, after catching Covid-19 in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in Singapore, and how, a team quickly rallied around her to save her life.

In This Together: Singapore's Covid-19 Story retails for $28 (with GST) at major bookstores. It is also available on the Straits Times Press website: https://www.stbooks.sg/

Follow Singapore's War On Covid podcast series here:

Channel: https://str.sg/wuJa

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wu3n

Spotify: https://str.sg/wuJy

Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

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Discover ST's special edition podcasts:

Singapore's War On Covid: https://str.sg/wuJa

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia: https://str.sg/wuZ2

Stop Scams: https://str.sg/wuZB

Invisible Asia: https://str.sg/wuZn