Singapore’s patchy Covid report card

Singapore’s arduous fight against the Corona virus is entering a difficult stage with the public getting exasperated and the government stumbling to finding a decisive way out of the crisis of a lifetime.
The 4G leadership, which is in the front line of this battle, is showing signs of weariness as they hold one press conference after another with each one showing that the group that is likely to run the country is in a hapless and helpless situation.

Yes, this is an invisible enemy that can strike suddenly and unexpectedly and with such stealth that it throws all your previous calculations out the window. Yes, this is an enemy that takes on different forms before you even know it. Yes, every solution has its downsides, which are difficult to predict. Yes, the government is caught in a tight squeeze of opening up and being hammered in the economic front. And yes, Singapore is still a Covid oasis when compared to our neighbours and many of the rich countries of the world.

The other side of the argument is that the government is flip-flopping in its policy responses. Just last month, it signalled a shift in its response when it said that the virus will continue to spread and we have to live with it. Last Tuesday came the bombshell announcement that with the statistics crossing the 200 mark on some days the government was putting in tighter measures to arrest the spread. And even warning that going back to the gloomy days of a lockdown is on the cards if the situation doesn’t improve.

Then there is the point that Singapore, like other parts of the world, is facing a new and deadlier version of the virus, the Delta variant. This can spread to two times more people. It has unleashed a new monster that has been making its rounds since July. Two months on, and it appears that the authorities were slow on the uptake.

But how did Hongkong, a city very similar to Singapore in size, demography, population density and economic growth model, show a steely drive to push their figures way down. A Singaporean who has been living there for more than 30 years said: “If a Covid cluster breaks out here, the authorities are swift and proactive to contain and reduce the cluster.

A lot more at https://www.prolificskins.com/forum/current-affairs/singapore-s-patchy-covid-report-card
 
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