Singapore will have to tighten COVID-19 measures 'promptly' if necessary to curb spread, avoid second circuit breaker: PM Lee

SINGAPORE: With the emergence of several new COVID-19 clusters in the community, the Government is doing everything it can to prevent them from spreading, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday (May 1). 

The new clusters are emerging after a long period of very few community cases, with some being “quite big and worrying”, said Mr Lee noted in his May Day Rally speech.

The Government will have to be agile and decisive in its response, and tighten measures "promptly" when necessary to clamp down on the spread and avoid going into a second “circuit breaker”.

Mr Lee urged Singaporeans to work with the Government and “not let down our guard”.

“It is not time to relax yet. This is a marathon. Let’s keep jogging. Let’s keep ourselves safe,” he said.

“Don't make the mistake which other countries have done - celebrate too early, relax too fast, let your guard down (and) cause another wave to come. Very often worse than the first and more nasty drastic measures become necessary.

“If we have to do another lockdown like last year’s circuit breaker, it would be a major setback for our people and for our economic recovery,” he added. “Let’s not make it happen.”

READ: PM Lee lauds unions' role in helping workers during COVID-19 crisis in May Day message

Mr Lee noted that Singapore’s economic outlook has “brightened considerably”, with the global recession being less protracted than initially feared.

Given the external trends such as a strong recovery anticipated in the United States, there is “a very good chance” for the economy to see growth of “6 per cent or more this year, he added.

“EMERGENCY LEGISLATION” FOR CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

Mr Lee said the efforts and sacrifices of many workers have been a reason why the country managed to keep the pandemic under control so far.

For instance, healthcare workers have been on the frontline, testing, vaccinating and treating patients.

Aviation workers, whose livelihoods were severely impacted, also joined the frontline by becoming patient care ambassadors, contact tracers and safe distancing ambassadors.

Workers in the construction sector have also experienced COVID-19 at “ground zero”, said Mr Lee.

While the outbreak in the migrant worker dormitories has been put out, said Mr Lee, safe management measures that remain necessary have burdened the industry. Coupled with a manpower crunch, these have led to projects being delayed and costs going up.

In addition, the recent ban on travellers from India has worsened the situation for the industry. Singapore on Apr 24 stopped allowing entry to all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history to India within the last 14 days.

As such, the Government is working on “emergency legislation to address this severe disruption and to share the burden more fairly between the different parties”, namely the contractors, developers and buyers.

“We will introduce the legislation, I hope, in the next sitting of Parliament,” said Mr Lee.

READ: Construction firms hit by India travel ban to get more flexibility to hire China workers

Mr Lee also noted that the pandemic has impacted workers from other sectors, which is why the Government has provided reliefs and grants to help businesses tide through the recession. But as the economy recovers, it will have to recalibrate support to a more sustainable level.

Moving forward, Singapore must “find a way to fully recover” and “build new muscles” for life after the COVID-19 pandemic.

On this, Mr Lee said trends are already under way and the country will have to seize these emerging opportunities, namely in the form of digitalisation, automation and sustainability.

NEW NTUC FOUNDATION

Earlier at the May Day Rally, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Ng Chee Meng announced the set-up of a NTUC Foundation, which will “be invested to provide a steady income flow for us to do our welfare work”.

This comes amid difficulties in fundraising amid the pandemic-induced recession, which has at the same time amplified the needs of some of NTUC’s lower-income members.

“With a steady source of income, we will have the flexibility to do more in co-creating opportunities and support to benefit, especially our lower-wage workers," said Mr Ng.

Protecting vulnerable people in the society is also a key priority of the Government.

Mr Lee pointed to how the Government has been working with tripartite partners to extend the progressive wage model to more sectors, like food services and retail.

“This is not just a theoretical exercise, but a practical effective strategy to improve the lives of more lower-wage workers, and we plan to more than double the number of workers covered under the progressive wage model over the next few years,” he said.

Other plans to support lower-income workers is also in the works and Mr Lee added that he intends to speak about these plans at the National Day Rally in a few months’ time.