Minister Lawrence Wong: ‘Don’t Rule Out CB Or Heightened Alert’

Our teary break-up with Malaysia and the Asian Financial Crisis was bad, but there has perhaps been no darker period in Singapore’s history than the circuit breaker last year.

Residents were stuck in their homes, without bubble tea or McSpicys at one point, forced to binge-watch Netflix until even Netflix started to get concerned.

“Are you really still watching?” it asked.

Once we exited the circuit breaker, we removed that period from our minds and prayed that we’d never again hear those words come out of a minister’s mouth.

Sadly, because cases are increasing at an alarming rate, we might just have to consider the possibility of a second lockdown.

Minister Lawrence Wong: ‘Don’t Rule Out CB Or Heightened Alert’ If ICU Numbers Increase

When Finance Minister Lawrence Wong spoke to the media yesterday (6 Sep), he made a startling statement.

“We hope that we can help to slow down transmission without having to go back to the heightened alert or the circuit breaker… but we should not rule them out entirely”.

“… if despite our best efforts, we continue to see, or we see serious cases in ICU or those needing oxygen going up sharply, then we may have no choice but to adopt a more tightened posture,” he added.

Yes, a circuit breaker may be on the cards if our COVID-19 situation doesn’t improve.

However, Mr Wong said that the authorities will try their best to refrain from using the last-resort measures, such as imposing a second circuit breaker.

Why the Authorities Are Concerned

As the minister explained, it’s not the actual number of cases that is concerning, but the rate at which the disease is spreading.

At the moment, the reproduction rate is more than one and cases are doubling every week.

“And if we continue on this trajectory of infection. It means we could have 1,000 (daily) cases in two weeks, or possibly 2,000 (daily) cases in a month,” he said.

And as statistics in other countries have shown, when there is a sharp spike in the overall number of cases, a rise in cases in the intensive care unit will follow.

So, any plans of reopening further will certainly have to be put on hold for now.

Cut Back on Social Gatherings Now to Avoid Further Restrictions

One way we can avoid further restrictions, as Mr Wong said, is to reduce our social interactions now.

“We are calling on everyone to do their part and exercise social responsibility. In that spirit, we are asking people to scale back non-essential social interactions,” he said.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) strongly encouraged all individuals to cut down on their “non-essential social activities” for the next two weeks. This was especially important for vulnerable elderly residents or those staying with the elderly, it said.

Social circles should be limited to a small group of regular contacts, and gatherings should be limited to one a day, it said, whether in another household or in public.

Sure, it’s not exactly 2019, but it’s certainly better than another circuit breaker.

By the way, if you haven’t heard, there are changes to COVID-19 measures that’ll start tomorrow (8 Sep), you can read all about that here.

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Feature Image: Igor Plotnikov / Shutterstock.com