Singapore Prepares To Live With COVID-19

Singapore illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/chensiyuan)

JAKARTA - Singapore is drawing up a roadmap on how to live more normally with COVID-19, in the hope that the virus will become as endemic as influenza and as vaccination rates rise, ministers leading the country's virus-fighting task force said.

The Lion Country is known to have vaccinated about half of its 5.7 million population with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer or Moderna.

While Singapore's vaccination rate is relatively high, it has been slower to resume social and travel activities, compared to other places with similar inoculation rates.

"It's been 18 months since the pandemic started, and our people are tired of fighting. Everyone is asking, when and how will the pandemic end?", Industry and Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in an opinion piece in The Straits Times newspaper.

Singapore is known to have strict COVID-19 rules governing social gatherings, wearing of masks, contact tracing, and travel.

The three ministers hope that at least two-thirds of the population will be fully vaccinated with two doses around Singapore National Day on August 9.

"We are working to advance vaccine delivery and speed up the process", they hoped.

When countries reach the milestone of delivering a COVID-19 vaccine, in time, instead of monitoring the daily number of infections, authorities will focus on outcomes such as how many fell ill.

Those infected will be allowed to undergo treatment and recovery at home, so there will be less worry about the health care system under stress.

Testing will not be a tool for fencing and quarantining people, but will rather be used to ensure that events, social activities and overseas travel can take place safely.

In addition, the ministers said, people will be able to travel again at least to countries that are controlling the virus, with testing and vaccination to eliminate the need for quarantine.