Singapore border reopening vital to economy but govt mindful of another Covid-19 wave: Minister

Singapore, July 5

Reopening Singapore’s borders is vital to the country’s economic recovery, but doing so prematurely could result in another wave of Covid-19 infections, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in Parliament on Monday.

The priority, therefore, is to speed up vaccinations, he said.

“There has been feedbacks from the business and investment community that Singapore might lose out to other hubs that are moving more aggressively to reopen their borders,” the Channel News Asia quoted Wong as saying.

“We understand these concerns. But we are also very mindful that if we were to reopen prematurely before we reach high enough vaccination levels, we could end up with another wave of infections, and worse, a surge in hospitalisation and ICU cases,” said Wong, who co-chairs the Covid-19 multi-ministry task force.

In a ministerial statement outlining support measures amid the easing of some Covid-19 restrictions, Wong said the reopening of borders is “an existential issue” for Singapore, which thrives on connectivity.

Vaccinations will enable the country to progressively reopen and reconnect with the world, he said.

Wong said, “We are already discussing with other jurisdictions that have effectively controlled the infection, to work out travel corridors with them for vaccinated persons to travel more freely, either without the need for stay-home notice (SHN) or with a reduced SHN duration.”

And while Singapore will not be able to prevent occasional imported infections, Wong said a high vaccination rate and the country’s public health defences will prevent major outbreaks.

Beyond the immediate term, Wong said Singapore is investing in new capabilities and “building (itself) up strongly” for the future.

For instance, it is pushing ahead with digitalisation for businesses, intensifying efforts at upskilling the local workforce, as well as focusing on becoming a regional centre for green finance.

He informed the house that the Emerging Stronger Taskforce has set out many recommendations to better position Singapore for future growth, and authorities will develop new initiatives over the coming months to speed up progress on these plans.

To achieve these goals, Wong emphasised the need for partnerships across the community, and noted that the authorities will aim to scale up private-public collaborations.

Rounding up his speech, Wong reiterated that Singapore is preparing to transit to a scenario where people learn to live normally with Covid-19.

Singapore reported 13 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday, seven of which were people who arrived with infection, taking the total Covid-19 cases to 62,630. PTI