Read highlights of the White Paper on the pandemic. Read more at straitstimes.com.
SINGAPORE - Relative to other countries, Singapore did well in protecting lives and livelihoods through the Covid-19 crisis, says a review of the Government’s handling of the pandemic. But there were situations that could have been better handled. The White Paper on Singapore’s Response to Covid-19 provides a closer look.Singapore’s Covid-19 response involved not only its hospitals, but the broader healthcare system. Different levels of care facilities were created.
Jobs were saved by the Jobs Support Scheme which paid a portion of workers’ salaries. It saved some 165,000 jobs during the initial months of the pandemic, and reduced the resident unemployment rate in both 2020 and 2021. HBL enabled Singapore to equip students with personal digital devices, which normally would have taken years.Effective communication was critical to maintaining public trust, a key factor in the smooth handling of the crisis. Information was made through channels like the regular multi-ministry taskforce press conferences, and a dedicated Gov.sg Whatsapp channel. The Government also stepped up efforts to counter misinformation, scams and foreign influence operations.
And rather than ease movement restrictions for migrant workers after most of them had been vaccinated and boosted, the Government instead acted out of an abundance of caution. This took a toll on their mental well-being. The report said there needs to be more accurate and reliable information on the migrant worker community, and more comprehensive medical support for them.
However, the programme suffered another setback when it was disclosed in Parliament that TraceTogether data could be used in police crime investigations. This contradicted earlier assurances and caused much public unhappiness. The Government should have been clearer about its use right from the start.Some rules and safe management measures were overly calibrated, needing to be changed frequently as the situation evolved. They became confusing and frustrating for the public.
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