Minister Hopes to Reopen Economy in a Month’s Time; Listed Down 3 Indicators to End Circuit Breaker

After nearly three weeks and one long extension of the circuit breaker, there is one question on everybody’s mind:

Reader: When will bubble tea shops open up again?

Ok, two questions:

When will the circuit breaker end?

It’s a question that has plagued Singaporeans for weeks, as they all suddenly have the urge to exercise despite pleading for more time to Netflix and chill before the pandemic.

While it might be too early to comment on the circuit breaker, one minister hopes to open the economy sooner rather than later.

Minister Hopes to Reopen Economy in a Month’s Time; Listed Down 3 Indicators to End CB

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing has said that the Government hopes to reopen the economy in one month.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday (23 April), Mr Chan said that this would be done progressively, with “much more testings” and “additional safe distancing measures”.

One wonders, though, how much safer we can be with our distancing when even chickens are keeping their distance from each other.

Too Early To Comment On When Circuit Break Will End

When asked if the circuit breaker will indeed end on 1 Jun, Mr Chan said it’s too early to say.

He added that the government is wary of ending the circuit breaker too early because hidden cases in the community could lead to a second or third wave.

That’s why more testing would be necessary, Mr Chan said.

3 Indicators For Ending Circuit Breaker

He did, however, give 3 indicators that’ll show it’s safe to end the CB period.

1. The number of deaths remains low.
2. The community spread goes down to as low as a single-digit number of daily cases.
3. The situation in foreign workers’ dorms gets under control, with the workers getting the quality of care that we should provide for them.

Yesterday, we finally hit a single-digit number of cases in the community after weeks of high numbers, so things are looking good on that front.

Focused More On Covid-19 Than The Election

When asked about Singapore’s upcoming election, Mr Chan said that the timing of the election will be decided by the Prime Minister, but added that the government is focused on the Covid-19 situation for now.

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He is also focused on the ability of the economy to recover and building “long-term capabilities”.

Migrant Workers’ Jobs

He added that he will ensure migrant workers are taken care of, making sure they keep their jobs and that the economy continues to function.

As you know, the spike in Covid-19 cases in past weeks can be attributed to the explosion of infections among workers in dormitories.

For instance, 597 of the 618 new cases reported yesterday are workers in dormitories.

In addition to the aggressive testing, many workers are in the constriction, marine and offshore industries are being isolated to make sure they are healthy before resuming work.

As a result, there may be some delays to their projects, said Mr Chan.

But once the Covid-19 outbreak dies down, he hopes these projects will “regain momentum”.

A Long Battle

In a Facebook post on the same day, Mr Chan said this fight will not be over so soon.

“On the healthcare situation in Singapore, this is a long battle. Whilst we should not be complacent in areas that we are doing well, we should also not be discouraged by setbacks in other areas.”

“We must constantly seek to improve.”

Those who can’t wait for the circuit breaker to end should understand that lifting restrictions too soon might cause another spike in cases, which could mean yet another circuit breaker.

Just read this article on what happened to Hokkaido after they opened too early.

So for now, let’s put our frustrations and bubble tea withdrawal aside and follow the government’s instructions.

More than anything else, the lives of residents here should be our priority.

Here’s Mr Chan’s post: