Lawrence Wong
Singapore
“Sir, we will provide more information. I see the value of getting Ministries to put out more information, to share more about how their resources are being used and what outcomes they have achieved.”
“Sir, I agree fully with Mr Azhar that human capacity, human capital is critical. In fact, I would say the long-term potential of Singapore, how far we go really depends on us being able to maximise our human potential. That is key and that is why we have long invested in education. And it is not just about the investments.”
“Sir, we have been maintaining that commitment of 1% for some time now. I do not think it is about saying that we just have to do more and spend more. As many have highlighted, we want to ensure good outcomes from our R&D spending as well. So, we will continue if the outcomes are good.”
“This has never been the case. Temasek, when it started, was always very clear about its mandate from the very beginning – commercial, not doing national service, focused on commercial outcomes.”
“Sir, the MOF economists when they look at fiscal projections use Government's forecast of the economy, which is also published. We would typically use the mid-point of the range and then, of course, because these are in nominal terms, you have to factor for that. And the projections are done on those basis.”
“Sir, I was relieved that Mr Loh said he only has one question, but he asked the most difficult question. To answer the question, we will continue to monitor cost of living across all segments of society.”
The complete record
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“Mr Speaker, for home-based businesses (HBBs), our key consideration is to draw the line for essential services where food is concerned. So, in providing food for Singaporeans, whether it is a physical outlet or it is a home-based provision, then you can do so, and delivery and take-out is permitted. But beyond that, other kinds of retail, whether it is a physical retail outlet or a home-based retail, we are still at this stage not allowing but as we said, we continue to monitor the situation closely and we will see whether the conditions permit for further easing of the measures.”
“Mr Speaker, on the last question on the SafeEntry system, we are mandating that for all business premises and venues from 12 May.”
“Thousands of volunteers have signed up for initiatives ranging from mask distribution, helping with applications for Temporary Relief Funds and appreciating our frontline workers. So, to everyone out there working during the circuit breaker, to those working from home and to those supporting the fight in whatever way you can, we also want to say “Thank You” for your contributions and sacrifices. We are all on the frontline in this fight against the virus. Every contribution counts and helps in our overall efforts. As we go about tackling this crisis, we see also many shining examples of SG United in action, like how we went about setting up very quickly Community Care Facilities at the Singapore Expo and the Changi Exhibition Centre – truly, a public-private partnership at work. These examples show us how much more effective we can all be when we stand together and combine our efforts across the public, private and people sectors. Mr Speaker, at some point, this COVID-19 crisis will pass. It will leave in its wake a permanently changed world. Uncertainly and instability may rise in some countries. Societal divides and inequalities may sharpen in others. But a few will emerge from this stronger, more united and more resilient than before. Singapore will endeavour to be in this group. To do so, all of us must continue to work together and support each other. This is the time for us to stand as one nation – to beat the virus, overcome the crisis and emerge stronger together. [Applause.] 4.02 pm”
“Like our teachers who have been busy designing new curriculum and engaging students on home-based learning; and they are now getting ready for the first batch of students returning to schools in two weeks. For others, it has been a complete change in their job scope. For example, Ms Jaime Lim, who is a Deputy Director at MOM said, and I quote, "My work went from being desk-bound to manning safe distancing measures ops command and now I am at a dormitory gazetted as an isolation area. Stationed at the dormitory, weekends and weekdays have merged into a blur. I am now used to foggy face shields, powdery palms from glove wear and facial marks made by masks". Many others, like Jaime, have gone above and beyond the call of duty. So, a big "Thank You" goes out to everyone on the frontline. [Applause.] They are working their guts out, taking care of fellow Singaporeans, fighting the virus and controlling the outbreak. We also deeply appreciate all who are in essential services, who have kept Singapore going through this circuit breaker period. They include our cleaners, facilities managers, technicians, refuse collectors, workers in the power and water industries, public transport workers, social service professionals, security guards, delivery riders, taxi drivers and so many more. It is also very heartening to see many ground-up initiatives from community groups. Our SGUnited portal saw a seven-fold increase in the total donations in this period compared to the previous year. Many social service organisations are helping the more vulnerable groups cope with the circuit breaker and providing additional support to our migrant workers.”
“All of us still have to play a part, by practising good personal hygiene habits, wearing a mask when we are outside and seeking medical attention immediately when we are unwell. These are basic fundamentals that we all have to uphold. But with these enablers and the safeguards in place, we can then plan for a safe and gradual resumption of activities in June – provided, as we said just now, we see a continued decline in our community numbers. Mr Speaker, it has been more than three months since we started our fight against the virus. The entire team has been working flat out over this period. They include our healthcare workers; contact tracers and infectious disease experts; researchers, scientists and lab technicians; our communications team who help to put out accurate and timely information; our safe distancing ambassadors and enforcement officers deployed all over Singapore; our officers manning our checkpoints, isolation and quarantine facilities; the SAF, SPF, SCDF officers mobilised across different areas; and public officers from all Ministries working hard to support the overall effort – they are mobilising volunteers, securing more spaces for the different needs we have, helping with relief measures and mask distribution – a whole range of work. As Co-Chair of the Task Force, I get a front row seat in seeing the best of Singapore at work during this crisis. And this has been truly a humbling and inspiring experience, because everywhere I go, I see people who are tired but they remain fully committed and focused on the mission and they are still going all out to get the job done. Some have had to quickly adapt to the new requirements of working from home.”
“And to open up safely, we will need to do two other things which Minister Gan highlighted just now – to ramp up testing and to harness technology for faster contact tracing. A nation-wide testing strategy is being developed, even as we scale up testing capacity, as shared by Minister Gan earlier. It will involve more extensive community surveillance, so that we are better able to detect any unlinked cases in the community. We will also prioritise the testing of higher risk and more vulnerable groups, like the residents and staff of nursing homes and welfare homes as well as healthcare workers that have high touch-points with the community. And then, we will progressively expand testing to the rest of the essential workforce and the broader community, in line with the expansion of our testing capacity. On the technology front, we have implemented two key tools. The first is SafeEntry, which is a digital check-in/check-out system to log the visits by individuals in all business premises and venues. The second is a TraceTogether app, which uses Bluetooth on your phones to quickly identify whom you have been near to, so that we can track your close contacts when the need arises. The team is now working with Apple and Google to enhance this app and to make it more effective, especially on iOS phones. Now, we are also developing solutions for the elderly and young who may not have smartphones. So, that is also a group we are focusing on. And there is a whole series of work around the technology front. When the work is ready, we will announce more details. Expanded testing and faster contact tracing are our two key strategies. But they are not a substitute for personal responsibility.”
“Within the workplace, there should not be any gathering of staff in groups at any time, be it in the pantry or the staff canteen. Very simple measures, but every company has to take them seriously. Wherever possible, we should make full use of technology to enable the implementation of these measures. And all of these safeguards must be in place before we can allow workplaces to re-open more and allow more people to resume going to work. When we do so, we will start with industries that are critical to the economy and to local employment and that keep us connected to the world and global supply chains. Some sectors will have to wait for a bit more time, for example, entertainment outlets or activities that attract crowds or people in close contact with one another. I do not think we can restart these activities anytime soon. Likewise, it may take some time for us to allow dining in at F&B outlets. I understand many people are looking forward to doing that with their family members and friends, but we will have to assess the risks and consider this very carefully, considering that this particular activity is a known vector for transmission. Religious gatherings and services too may take a while to resume. In fact, all our communities have experienced or will be experiencing their religious observances and holidays under very different circumstances. From Qing Ming and Easter in April, and soon Vesak Day and Hari Raya in May. We know it has not been easy and we really appreciate everyone's understanding of the adjustments that have to be made to keep ourselves and our families safe during this period.”
“Take the construction sector as one example. Over the years, we have made progress in construction productivity. We now have more pre-fabricated construction. But there are still 270,000 migrant workers in this sector alone. A construction worksite will typically have hundreds of workers coming from multiple dormitories. One single infected worker – mild or asymptomatic – can spread the virus to their co-workers at the worksite. They in turn can bring the infection back to where they live and also to places they gather with their friends. When that happens, large clusters will quickly form, as has happened. How do we avoid this from happening again? We will have to work with the industry to fundamentally change the way we go about construction activities. We will need a whole range of measures covering the worksites, the accommodation and transport of workers, as well as additional precautions taken by the workers themselves. I have highlighted construction as an example. But this applies to all sectors of the economy. All firms will need to change their work culture and practices. Life after the circuit breaker will not be a return to status quo ante. That is why MTI and MOM are engaging industry associations, business chambers and firms, to help them adapt to these new realities. For example, telecommuting will have to be a default option extended to all staff and for those who cannot telecommute, strict safe management practices will have to be implemented. There will need to be split team arrangements with no cross-deployment of staff, staggered working and lunch break hours, higher hygiene standards, amongst a whole range of different measures.”
“Several Members – Assoc Prof Walter Theseira and Ms Anthea Ong – had asked for a review and inquiry into the cause of the outbreak in the dormitories. We do want to review and learn. We do want to continue taking feedback and suggestions to improve. That is our basic attitude – to keep improving, learning and doing better. But we are now still in the heat of battle. When all this is over, we will certainly look back and learn from the experience. We do that each time, after a crisis. For example, our lessons from SARS have helped us a lot in dealing with COVID-19. Likewise, at the right time, we will comprehensively review this pandemic and our responses – not just the outbreak in the dormitories, but the entire crisis from start to finish, and our overall response, and we will seek to learn and improve. And I have no doubt that we will find many things where we could have done better and many changes we should make to be better prepared the next time. But for now, let us stay focused on the urgent priorities ahead of us – we have to bring the outbreak under control on the two fronts, in the community and in the migrant worker dormitories, so that we may then resume activities gradually. And indeed, looking ahead, the key challenge for us and for countries everywhere, is to work out how we can exit from the circuit breaker and resume normal activities safely, without the virus flaring up again. Easing on the measures prematurely and without proper safeguards can result in a second wave of transmission and then force a second round of tightening, which I am sure no one wants. This has happened in other countries and it reinforces the need for us to move cautiously. As we take these steps to resume activities, there will be major challenges to tackle.”
“It was a difficult decision to make because we knew businesses and workers are already hurting. But in the end, we decided we had to proceed with this move, so as to break the transmission chain and slow down the spread of the virus. To mitigate the impact, we supported businesses, workers and Singaporeans at large with the Unity, Resilience and Solidarity Budgets – more than $60 billion in total, including drawing on our national reserves with the President's permission. For all Singaporeans, we have the Solidarity payment of $600, with more support for those with children and other support, such as the COVID-19 Support Grant and the Temporary Relief Scheme. Looking ahead, as we think about easing some of the circuit breaker measures, we will adopt this same evidence-based approach to assess the transmission risks, and then make careful and calibrated adjustments. Where possible, and where we assess the risks to be low, we will consider easing and allowing some flexibility on the ground. So, to Mr Henry Kwek's question, we do allow one change of address during the circuit breaker period, for care-giving needs, such as for parents to move in with their children's grandparents through that circuit breaker period. So, no shuttling to and fro but you move one time and you stay there. But there will also be many requests we have to reject. We are already getting appeals for more relaxation for more businesses to open, for my favourite shop to open. And you can guess which one is top on the list, going beyond what we have announced. But we have to hold the line for now and I hope Singaporeans understand why we need to be firm and why everyone must do their part to cooperate and comply with these measures.”
“I mentioned this because there was a video going around earlier on how they were amongst the first European countries to impose a requirement for people to wear masks. In the Czech Republic today, you can go out to exercise and you do not need to wear a mask, so long as you maintain a safe distance from others. Some think we do not need to bother with these very careful calibrations and just go for a "full lockdown". But if you look at the countries on lockdowns, the measures they implement are not the same, even if they use the same term. What is more important is to understand the specific measures that are needed in our own context and circumstance. Of course, one of the most effective ways to slow down the spread of the virus is to restrict movement altogether, get everyone to just stay home. As Minister Ong Ye Kung puts it – he coined a very catchy phrases to explain this to the elderly in Mandarin: "如果你不出门, 你就不会见人; 如果你不见人, 病毒就不会进门". In translation, "If you don't go out, you won't meet people; if you don't meet people, you won't bring the virus home." It does not have the same ring in English but you get the point. Staying home can be an effective measure but keeping everyone at home also has substantial social and economic costs. The impact is likely to be felt disproportionately by the lower income and the vulnerable groups. They are also less likely to be able to telecommute for work so staying home will clearly affect their incomes and livelihoods. Being isolated at home for long periods is also not good for their health and overall well-being. And that is why we considered very carefully before we decided to implement the circuit breaker and then later to extend it for a month.”
“And that is why we updated our guidance on masks as we learnt more about the virus, and then we made it a requirement for everyone to wear masks when they go out. We also explained then, that the wearing of mask is not the only, nor the most important protective measure. Remember that the virus can spread through surfaces as well. So, the wearing of masks must be complemented with other precautions that we have emphasised from the outset, including safe distancing and good personal hygiene. Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked if we should make it compulsory to wear masks when you are out in all circumstances; even when ones engages in strenuous exercise outside. Actually, the issue here is not just about the wearing of masks. Requiring people to wear a mask when engaging in strenuous exercise is not advisable because it can pose a health risk. The more fundamental issue is whether we want to allow people to go outside to exercise in the first place. So, we looked at this very carefully. Going out for exercise is beneficial for your immunity and health. There is a risk of transmission only if you are in close contact with another person for some time. But if you exercise alone in the open with safe distancing, as you are required to, this should not pose a problem. There is also no local evidence of transmission occurring among people exercising in the open. On the other hand, prohibiting outdoor exercise altogether and keeping people cooped up at home for a long time can be harmful. So, on balance, we decided to allow outdoor exercise by yourself, in your own neighbourhood, so long as safe distancing is in place. This is a balance which other countries have struck too – take the example of the Czech Republic.”
“But we must stay vigilant, maintain our discipline, continue to stay home and minimise our contacts with others. As we continue this fight against the virus, we also learn more about how the virus is transmitted. So, we update our risk assessments and adjust our measures accordingly. And as I said just now, we must expect more challenges along this journey, which may require us to take further adjustments in our measures or to take additional precautions. For members of the public, I can appreciate that it is sometimes difficult to keep up with all the changes. But I hope that everyone appreciates and understands that we are responding to a dynamic and fast changing situation. In every case, we will carefully consider the latest scientific evidence and medical advice and the impact on our people before making a change. Our overriding objective has always been and will continue to be the health and well-being of Singaporeans. For example, at the start of the outbreak, we had to implement many new travel restrictions and adjust them quickly as we tracked how the virus was spreading from country to country. Later, in coming up with specific measures for our community, we too had to adapt and adjust as we learnt more about the virus. This has happened not just in Singapore, but everywhere around the world. We are dealing with a new virus, and scientists everywhere are discovering more about the virus, even today, and the disease it causes. As Prof Leo Yee Sin, Executive Director of NCID has said, "for us to be ahead of the virus... we [need to] know the enemy very well", and right now, "we're still on the learning curve". It is not just Singapore which is on the learning curve, the whole world is still on the learning curve.”
“At the same time, we have implemented a comprehensive set of support measures to look after the health, well-being and welfare of these workers, which Minister Josephine Teo will elaborate on later. We are very mindful of our responsibility to these migrant workers who have contributed so much to Singapore, and we will continue to ensure that they get the care and support they need. The second major front is in suppressing the spread of the virus in the community, through the circuit breaker. We implemented the circuit breaker on 7 April; two weeks later, on 21 April, we tightened the circuit breaker measures, and also extended it to 1 June. We know the restrictions have not been easy and have created considerable inconveniences. But Singaporeans have been resilient and have taken all these in your stride. For this, we want to thank everyone for doing their part. Through our collective efforts, we are now seeing some results – daily infection numbers have started to come down, although they are not yet at single digits. That is why we extended the tightened measures for another week till 11 May. Thereafter, we will allow some gradual easing, as we had announced over the weekend, but the key circuit breaker measures will largely remain till 1 June. I must strongly caution that the easing of some measures in the coming weeks cannot be taken as a signal that we can now take it easy and start to go out more. Remember, the fight is far from over. This battle against the virus is not a sprint; it is a marathon, and we are not even at the halfway mark! And if you have done a marathon, you will know that the second half is typically harder than the first. So, we must expect more challenges ahead. The virus can flare up again anytime. So, we cannot afford to slacken.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, during our last update to Parliament, I said that the situation was uncertain and fluid, and that we would have to expect daily changes. Indeed, over the past month, our battle against COVID-19 has escalated sharply. Now, we have ramped up our resources significantly in response to the challenges, and today, we are continuing to fight the virus on two main fronts. First, we are doing all we can to control the serious outbreak amongst migrant workers in the dormitories, and to take care of these workers. We have had a huge spike in cases at the dormitories. The infection is mostly concentrated amongst workers in the construction sector. We now know that the transmission amongst this group has been happening for some time, and occurred not just in the dormitories, but also in common worksites and in places that they went to with their friends after work and on their rest days. And that is why we had clusters outside of the dormitories too – amongst construction workers living in shophouses and private apartments. To determine the extent of the spread, we have undertaken extensive testing amongst these workers. Many of the workers have very mild symptoms and they sometimes brush this aside as a very mild cold. So, we are testing not just the workers who report sick, but also those that are asymptomatic and well. This intensive testing explains the large numbers that we are still picking up amongst migrant workers in the dormitories, and we expect this to continue for a few more weeks. To minimise the risks of spread to the wider community, we have stopped the movement of workers in and out of all dormitories, and put the construction workers living outside the dormitories on a stay-home requirement.”
“I should remind everyone that the fine does not absolve a property owner of his obligation to pass on the property tax rebate to his tenants under the Bill. The property owner must still pass on the rebate fully in the prescribed manner and by the prescribed timelines. Tenants can bring civil action against a property owner to enforce the obligation to pass down the property tax rebate. On documentation required of property owners, property owners should ensure that they keep sufficient documentation to show clearly when the rebate was passed on and how much was passed on to their tenants. In the case where the property owner lets out a property to multiple tenants, then the owner should also keep documentation showing how he derived the amount of rebate to be passed on to each of his tenants. Property owners can retain the relevant documentation in either soft copy or hard copy form so long as they remain available over a period of three years. We also strongly encourage property owners to ensure that their tenants acknowledge the property tax rebate received. This is to minimise potential disputes between the owner and the tenants on whether the rebate has been properly passed on. Mr Deputy Speaker, I believe I have addressed all the comments from Members and I thank them for their support.”
“While we are cognisant that sub-tenants, namely the tenants of the property owners' tenants, are also impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, the obligation under this Bill is on the property owner to only pass on the rebate to his own tenants. It does not extend to requiring the property owner to pass the rebate to the sub-tenants or to require that the property owner ensures his own tenant passes the rebate to the latter's sub-tenant. There are two reasons for this. First, we are very mindful that there is a whole range of commercial arrangements between tenants and sub-tenants. It is not always a straightforward landlord and tenant relationship. They have profit-sharing, they have partnership arrangements. So these can be quite complex. Second, there is no contractual between the property owner and the sub-tenant. So it would be rather onerous to oblige the property owner to reach out all the way to the sub-tenants. Nevertheless, we strongly urge and encourage all master tenants to pass on the savings from the rebate to their sub-tenants and to share the burden during this time of uncertainty and difficulty. Fourth, on the maximum fine of $5,000 and whether or not that is sufficient as a deterrent against non-compliant property owners. Again, let me provide some context. First, the fine of $5,000 takes reference from the Property Tax Act, which sets a penalty for general offences at a fine of the same amount. Second, remember that property tax is paid on a per account basis. So, a retail mall, for example, would have multiple property tax accounts to pay and if they were to not comply with multiple property tax accounts, then the fine of $5,000 will be compounded up to $5,000 per account.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the Members who had spoken and given their suggestions on the specific provisions of the Bill concerning the remission of property tax. There were some points raised so let me provide quick clarifications. First, whether property owners who had acted quickly to pass on the property tax rebate before this Bill was introduced will be unduly penalised. I think it is very commendable that some property owners had indeed done so and I would like to assure everyone that these property owners will not be penalised for their earlier efforts. If these property owners had already passed on the rebate to each of their tenants in the form of monetary payment, rental reductions or an offset against current and future rental, consistent with the requirements in this Bill, the amount of rebate passed on earlier will satisfy the obligation imposed under this Bill. The second issue, the amount and the timeliness of property tax rebate passed on to the property owner's tenant. The property owners will be required to pass on the benefits they received at two milestones, namely by July 2020 and December 2020. This is because property owners on instalment payment plans for their property tax will only receive the full benefit of the rebate by the end of the year. These two milestones therefore strike a balance between ensuring that property owners will not be required to pass on more than the rebate that they have received on hand and ensuring that they pass on the rebate in a timely manner to their tenants. Third, whether master tenants are required to pass on the property tax rebate to their sub-tenants.”
“Mr Speaker, I think the basic advice we give to everyone, whether living in your own flat or living in a rental flat is quite straightforward. If you are not sick, then it is all right, I mean, if you live together. But as so long as you start feeling unwell, even if it is a cough, sore throat, then you do not continue to interact even with your own family members; immediately go and see a doctor. And then, at that stage, you should self-isolate even from your own family members and take necessary precautions. So, that is the basic advice. If all the family members are feeling all right, then it is fine. It is not as though they have to minimise interactions amongst themselves. As a family, I am sure you will still be coming into contact. But it is upon the time when somebody starts to feel unwell, then you should really start to take precautions. So, it is on that basis that safe distancing applies within the household. Indeed, if there are members, whether in a sold flat, 3-room flat, 4-room flat or in a rental flat, if there are Singaporeans who find difficulty doing this sort of a self-isolation because of the size of their family and the physical environment that they are in, then they can contact us and we will see how best to help them including providing additional housing support.”
“So immediately upon the update of the guidance on mask on Friday, on Sunday the collection points were all activated nationwide. From experience, or look at what has happened so far. People have come forward. They have collected the masks. The time they took to pick up the masks was very quick. So, the entire conduct of this has been fast, efficient and safe. And to-date, more than 2.8 million masks have already been collected. So, we again appreciate SAF, the PA and all our many volunteers who have been activated, who have stepped forward to enable this collection exercise to be done promptly and safely.”
“So, Mr Louis Ng asked about the management of dorms and whether more can be done to test workers. I would like to clarify and assure everyone that the task force is putting in place a whole series of measures to manage the infection in our foreign worker dorms. That includes taking steps to move out workers in some of these dorms to other areas so that we can better manage them, ensure compliance with all the safe-distancing measures within the dorms. And yes, it also includes stepping up of tests of workers in these dorms. So, to Mr Louis Ng's specific question, we will be doing more to test the workers there as well. Mr Leon Perera also asked about the mask distribution exercise. He mentioned that the last time we did a surgical mask distribution exercise, he had asked whether it could be done through the mail and I had explained that we preferred for people to pick up at collection points because not everyone would need the masks and we wanted to conserve the masks. And so he said since this is now reusable masks, why not do it through mail rather than have people collect the masks. I would again like to clarify the task force did consider the different ways in which we can put out the masks to Singaporeans as quickly as possible and also safely. When we changed and updated the guidance for masks, our priority was to ensure that the reusable masks could be released to Singaporeans quickly and safely. If we were to do it through the mail system, actually it would have taken quite some time – maybe up to a week or more. But we have a system in place through the collection points where people can come down to collect and we can put in place on the procedures for fast, efficient and safe collection. And indeed that has been the case.”
“Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would like to address some queries raised not so much on the Budget because there were some queries asked about dorms and also about masks.”
“The Community Improvement Projects Committee (CIPC) provides funding support for improvement projects in HDB estates for the benefit of local residents. Such facilities include covered walkways, footpaths, playgrounds and bicycle racks. The CIPC sets aside budget for the Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCCs) each year based on the number of HDB residential units in each constituency. The CCCs can decide how to utilise these funds for their projects, and have to raise their own funds to co-pay 10% of the project costs. As the Town Councils have to maintain the completed CIPC projects that are built on HDB common property, the CCCs also have to seek the Town Councils' agreement to maintain the infrastructure before construction work can commence. It is not meaningful to compare CIPC funding across CCCs as every constituency is different and their residents have different needs. This is why the CIPC generally lets the CCCs, who are closer to the ground, decide on the selection of the projects to best meet the needs of the residents.”
“(proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Lawrence Wong]. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”
“So, these organisations continue to do good work and the Government will see how we can continue to work with these organisations to look out for the well-being of our migrant workers. Ms Joan Pereira asked whether we could consider exempting GST for a list of vital healthcare items and assistive devices used by the elderly. I will address this briefly as it does not really directly relate to the Bill. We have a broad-based GST system with minimal exemptions and we have chosen this approach so as to keep the GST rate relatively low while we provide targeted assistance to the lower income and the elderly through subsidies and grants. In fact, Assoc Prof Theseira has helped to explain why we think this is a better approach and meets the objective of helping those who need help. Today, we already absorb GST for all subsidised patients for medical services and medications in polyclinics, public hospitals or intermediate and long-term care and we will continue to do so with the GST increase.Seniors currently receive more benefits under the GST Voucher scheme through annual MediSave top-ups. Seniors also receive significant support for their healthcare costs through other subsidies. Seniors who need assistive devices and home care consumables can tap on the Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund and the Home Caregiving Grant which Ms Pereira has also highlighted. Additional help, such as through ComCare and MediFund, would be made available to those who require further financial assistance. Of course, seniors can also approach the agency for integrated care, for advice on the available support. Mr Speaker, I thank the Members for their comments on the Bill and I believe I have addressed the comments. I beg to move. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to.”
“When the GST rate is increased, we will enhance the permanent GST Voucher scheme to continue to meet this commitment. And as part of the review to work out the likely enhancements, we will carefully study the impact of the increased GST and the GST Voucher on Singaporeans, as Assoc Prof Theseira has suggested. In Budget 2020, we also made clear the Government's commitment to cushion the increase for Singaporeans as we transition to the higher GST rate. As our fiscal resources are limited, we will have to put Singaporeans first when we think about how to allocate these resources. We will have to prioritise support for our citizens. This reflects the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship and also acknowledges our citizens' commitment to Singapore. Ms Anthea Ong shared her concern for migrant workers who reside in Singapore. I understand her concerns. These are workers here for employment. Like all foreign work pass holders, they will have to pay the increased GST rate from the onset, compared to Singaporeans, who will effectively see a delay in the GST increase for at least five years after offsets. We do appreciate the contributions of migrant workers to our economy. Many of them seek employment here to give their families back home a better life. While they have to pay GST, they also benefit from job opportunities here. Rather than extend GST Vouchers to this group, we will have to look at other ways where we can address more directly the concerns and needs that migrant workers have, bearing in mind that there are also many organisations out there that play an important role in looking out for the well-being of migrant workers and ensuring that they are treated fairly and have good working conditions.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Members, Ms Anthea Ong, Ms Joan Pereira and Assoc Prof Walter Theseira for their comments on the Bill. All three Members have spoken on different aspects of the Bill and I will seek to address their comments and feedback. Let me, first, reiterate our position. First, we have a standing commitment to provide more help to lower income Singaporeans for their GST expenses on a regular basis, that is, through the existing GST Voucher scheme. On top of that, we plan to support all Singaporeans during the transition to a higher GST rate through the Assurance Package for GST. So, there are two different aspects. One is permanent baseline; another is transitionary, in order to cushion the impact of the increase of the GST rate. Earlier, I had already explained the reasons for the amendment, which is to broaden the purposes of the GST Voucher Fund, in order to enable the Assurance Package to be implemented to cushion the impact of the GST rate increase. I also emphasised that we will continue to provide more support to lower income Singaporeans through the existing permanent GST Voucher scheme. So, the policy intent of ensuring that lower income Singaporeans get more support remains unchanged and Assoc Prof Walter Theseira can be assured that we are not moving away from this. In his Budget 2020 Statement, Deputy Prime Minister Heng, in fact, reiterated our public commitment for this permanent GST Voucher scheme. He said that it would fully offset the GST for the lower half of retiree households. It would significantly offset the GST for the upper half of retiree households and it would offset about half of the GST for lower income households with no elderly persons. So, that is our commitment.”
“About 52,000 households currently live in rental flats under the various HDB rental schemes, of which about 50,000 households are under the Public Rental Scheme. Around 70 rental flats are occupied by more than one nuclear household. This means that they are able to form more than one family nucleus comprising one Singapore Citizen (SC) and another SC or Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR). Those under the Public Rental Scheme may rent separate flats, subject to each household meeting the prevailing eligibility conditions for the Public Rental Scheme. 85% of households with at least three persons are living in 2-room or larger rental flats under the various HDB rental schemes. For the households residing in 1-room rental flats, some may not have been able to retain their larger flats due to arrears. HDB does not track the number of applicants under the Joint Single Scheme who are unable to secure a rental flat due to difficulty in finding a suitable co-applicant. Singles looking to apply for a rental flat under the Joint Singles Scheme are encouraged to find someone they know to be their co-applicant, such as a relative or a friend. For those who need help to find a co-applicant, HDB will assist by offering them a listing of single persons who are also looking for a possible pairing. HDB also conducts facilitated sessions to help the singles on the list find a flatmate.”
“Mr Speaker, on the first question on the rationale for whether or not if something were to happen, whether the centre, pre-school or school is closed for day for cleaning or for longer periods of time, it really depends on the particular instance, the incident, the person who is infected, and then, the contacts that that person may have had with people around him or her. And this is done through the MOH team – they go down, they assess, they make a very thorough investigation. If the finding is that there is no exposure at all for that individual with other people around the infected person, then there may not be a need for an extensive closure. And then, you just closed for one or two days, make sure everything is disinfected, cleaned, and then, you can proceed. But, if the assessment is that there is a broader range of context within that particular environment and potentially more people may be impacted, then, they will give the advice to the centre that it is better to close for a longer period of time. So, there is an objective and very thorough assessment made in each and every case.”
“I will address the question on public transport. Mr Irshad is right that we should have safe distancing measures even within the public transport system. But the first priority has to be just to reduce the numbers. If the numbers are still high, having safe distancing within a train or bus will mean the queue goes up somewhere else. It would be in the bus stop, it will be outside the train station, there will still be a congregation. So, I think before we talked about measures within a train, in the escalators, stations and all that, all necessary, we have to bring down the sheer volume. The only way to do that, as I said earlier – telecommuting, staggered hours, all employers must push harder on this.”
“Mr Speaker, we have already highlighted some of the deterrence that we are putting in place for outbound, new outbound travellers, including the fact that they have to pay full cost when they come back and should they need treatment. And the fact that when they are returning, upon returning they have to serve the full self-isolation period of 14 days and pay full cost for that as well. We will continue to see if other measures are needed. I am just very mindful that for every new measure we put in place, there is a requirement to have new operational requirements, new processes, new staff work to be done and all of this takes up resources. So, at the end of the day, this is about looking at how we allocate resources to areas of urgent needs and priorities. So, we will first monitor the volume of outflows. It is already coming down and if the measures we have are effective in bringing the volumes down further, I think we should be all right. In any case, I think there will still be some people who might very well need to travel, for whatever reasons – maybe there is a bereavement, that somebody had passed away in the family, outside of Singapore and they really need to go and I can understand why. So, I do not think the numbers will fall to zero but if it comes down to a number that we are able to manage, we should be okay. But if the numbers continue to persist and do not come down further, then, indeed more measures will be necessary and we will consider what additional measures at that stage will be introduced.”
“I think the team will always look at ways in which it can do better, particularly reaching out to segments that may not be accessing the information so readily and we will always look at different ways where we can put up more information. So, that work is continuing. We know it is a vital work that has to be done and we are sparing no effort to ensure that the information is put out in a timely and accurate manner. We will also, during this period, be able to leverage on resources outside of the Public Sector. In fact, there is spare capacity out in the private sector. There are call centres, there are people who can be enlisted to help us in this outreach and so we are also looking at leveraging on these resources, so it need not and should not be a Government effort alone. We really need a whole of Singapore effort in order to fight the virus.”
“Mr Speaker, the issue of public transport again cannot be looked at in isolation because it has to be considered together with measures we take, for example, at workplaces. In order to reduce crowdedness and in order to reduce volumes on public transport, particularly during the peak periods, it is vital that companies take action and employers take action to do two things: one, get as many of their employees and staff to work from home; and second, for those who really have to come to the office, put in place staggered hours. We have issued the advisories; the Public Sector is going all out to do it. But, as I mentioned earlier, we know that more still can be done and has to be done. So, MOM, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, MTI, we are all reaching out engaging employers and getting them to step up and do more. We have to go more aggressively on telecommuting in order to bring down the loading on the public transport system during peak hours. On communications, as Minister Gan said, we have a whole-of-Government approach. MOH is the front because you see the statements, advisories, they are all put out under the banner of MOH. All of the information is on the MOH website, but really behind the scenes is a whole-of-Government communications team coordinated by Minister Iswaran and the MCI communications team. A lot of people are working day and night because of the rapid – the nature of the work is such that we are putting out new information so rapidly, so they are constantly generating infographics, materials in different languages and pushing them pushing them out through multiple platforms. We can continue to improve.”
“The ones that do not, probably do not quite know and may think that they are essential even though they are not part of the framework. But we will be reaching out to more firms so that they are mindful and if additional measures are needed, we can ensure a smoother transition.”
“Mr Speaker, we are very mindful that in the event of stricter measures we want to ensure that the vulnerable groups have access to essential supplies and services. Even under today's environment where we put in place the range of measures that we have already announced, we were mindful of that and that is why we are still allowing F&B outlets to operate, people still need to go out to eat. But if they do so, then the setting is such that it is safe, it is separated and the F&B outlets remain open, the kitchens remain open, because food manufacturers, kitchens still need to generate the food and some of that can be ordered for take-out. So, these are things we are very mindful of and if indeed stricter measures are imposed, we will ensure some of these outlets remain open, in order for people to access food and essential supplies, and we can also mobilise volunteers who can help with the delivery of such items to vulnerable groups. Second, on the question on the framework for essential services, we do have such a framework in place and we will engage the key stakeholders. Of course, when the announcements – if and when announcements are made for stricter measures including closure of workplaces, aside from those doing essential services, then that would be announced. I think the Member's point is by the time you announce and put out the framework, people may well be scrambling and the reaction time may not be fast enough and there may be a little bit of anxiety at that point in time. We recognise that. We will do what we can and we are doing what we can to engage these firms. I think the firms who are tagged as essential services know who they are.”
“For Minister for National Development, in the event of more strict control measures, what resources will be deployed to ensure that daily necessities can be distributed to the public, especially for those who are more vulnerable and in need because they may not be able to leave their home or may be very cautious about doing so. We do not want a situation where people cannot access daily necessities in the event of more strict measures. The other question on more strict measures is, currently, what are we doing to define essential services and to work with workplaces, employers and so on, so that everybody understands what is essential and what is not. Because I think we are seeing in many other countries, there is a lot of confusion about how this is being worked out on the ground. And I think if we have more strict measures and we rush to inform everybody, you are essential and you are not, we will have a lot of confusion and that could be too late. It might be good to start early.”
“Mr Speaker, the task force is quite clear in putting out these measures that we want to restrict any form of activity that brings about congregations of more than 10 persons. That is a rule or that is an advisory and a guideline that we put out to all organisations. And all political parties in this House, outside of this House will therefore have to abide by these guidelines and make adjustments to their activities. Assoc Prof Walter Theseira (Nominated Member): Mr Speaker, I have four clarifications. Two for the Minister for Health, two for Minister for National Development. For Minister for Health, are there any plans by the Government to provide housing support to frontline healthcare workers who request it. That is because we have heard that there are some cases of healthcare workers, who out of caution, they want to isolate themselves from their families and they may or may not have the means to do so. So, that is the first. The second question is there are some reports elsewhere that indicate quite a high proportion of cases actually have no symptoms. For example, I think about half of the cases from The Diamond Princess cruise ship were non-symptomatic upon being diagnosed. So, are there any plans to investigate this in Singapore, for example, through voluntary random testing or something, to see whether we do in fact have quite a few people who were exposed and infected but there is nothing, no consequences there? Because this could help to inform our strategy going forward.”
“Mr Speaker, MAS and SGX have already put out some guidelines on how companies listed entities can go about conducting their AGM and other activities during this period, precautions that they can take and we will continue to study if additional measures, including legislative measures, may be needed, if necessary.”
“And when they come back, we welcome them but we take the necessary precautions to make sure that they self isolate for the full period and do not cause any infection within our own community. For religious gatherings, we have made very clear there is a suspension of all religious congregations and services for the next month. The religious places of worships may remain open for people to go; individuals who need to get help from their religious leaders, that remains. So, the venues themselves remain open. Religious organisations, different faiths may want to do smaller groups. But if they do so, then we ask them to abide strictly by the guidelines. Each group less than 10 persons; and even within that grouping, make sure precautions are taken. So, minimise physical contact as much as possible and then, make sure that no one there is unwell. If anyone has been overseas recently, make sure that they are isolated. They should not be there to begin with. So, these are all precautions that religious organisations, in fact, every organisation should take. No more large gatherings. If there is a small group, keep it less than 10 and even then, take all the necessary precautions.”
“Mr Speaker, where it comes to whether or not more drastic measures are needed, people use the word "lockdown". But let us look specifically at what additional measures we are contemplating, and I mentioned that just now. We have already put in place quite strict measures recently. The next step, if it is necessary, would be, as I mentioned, suspension of schools, which has to also go together with closure of some workplaces, aside from those providing essential services. They go together because if you were to suspend schools, many parents will need help looking after their children. And if they have to go to work, it will not be practical. It will be very difficult for them to do. So, the next step if we have to consider, what would be the considerations for that? It is not just the overall number of cases. We have to drill deeper to understand the reasons for these cases. If we continue to see more cases coming in and a lot of them are imported cases, and we are able to contain and ringfence and isolate them, we may not need to trigger the additional measures. But if we see more local transmitted cases, particularly unlinked ones, and that continues to rise, despite all that we are doing with strict safe distancing measures, then we may well need to activate the next set of brakes in order to slow down the spread of the virus. On the many Singaporeans who need assistance, we remain open to welcoming them. So, I think that if there is a need to, MFA and the overseas missions are reaching out to them. Flights have come down but commercial flights are still available for many of these countries. So, I would imagine people are making their own arrangements. Some have decided to stay and then some will decide to come back.”
“Mr Speaker, words are not sufficient to express our appreciation for all of those who are — Please give me a minute. Let me just repeat what I said just now. Words are not sufficient to express our appreciation for so many Singaporeans going all out to fight the virus. And I just want to say a big "thank you" to everyone who is doing their part. [Applause] We recognise that there is a growing uncertainty, anxiety and fear amongst Singaporeans. People are asking many questions – how long will this last? How safe will we be? How will our businesses survive? I receive many suggestions and feedback all the time, every day. Some want more drastic measures. Some say we are doing too much and there are too many restrictions. I appreciate all of the feedback. I cannot reply to each one of them, individually, but the team is looking at all of them and we take all of them into consideration as we develop and update our measures. In some cases, there are no clear answers and solutions because the situation is so uncertain – so fluid and changing rapidly by the day. But one thing is clear – we are all in this together and we will continue to work through the challenges together, every step of the way. Mr Speaker, Sir, it has been more than two months since our work on COVID-19 started. It almost seems like a life time ago, but in fact, we are only at the beginning of a very long fight. This will continue for many more months till the end of the year and, perhaps, even beyond. The coronavirus is, without a doubt, the biggest threat the world and Singapore has faced for decades. So, let us rally together and rise to this challenge because as SG United, we can beat the virus together and we will emerge stronger and toughened after this crisis. [Applause.]”
“We have healthcare workers on the frontline making many sacrifices and working tirelessly to care for patients. We have our public officials working very hard, too, across all the agencies – not everything they do is visible to the public eye. But I can tell you that they are working round the clock and it is incredible what they have been able to achieve, especially given the quick turnaround times. We are literally making new measures every other day, putting in place adjustments to measures almost on a daily basis and so this impacts on communications. We have a huge team working night and day to put out public communications materials to inform the public of all of these updates. We have a huge team on the operational side, be it at immigration or security, going all out to adjust to these changes and ensuring smooth implementation. From time to time, there will be public feedback, there will be public complaints – they take all of this in their stride. If there are lapses, they try to rectify them as quickly as possible. And I hope the public will cooperate, too. We welcome feedback but you can do your part by ensuring the accuracy of your feedback so that the agencies do not have to waste time and resources to check on each and every information. There are many more unsung heroes all over the island – in areas like cleaning, security, airport management, media, hotels, F&B, transport and many more providing services to Singaporeans – all still going strong, keeping their spirits high. And there are many Singaporeans who have stepped up in their own ways looking after one another and caring for our fellow Singaporeans. Words are not sufficient to express our appreciation.”
“Mr Speaker, I have summarised some of our key strategies in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in Singapore. Underpinning all of these efforts is the need for all Singaporeans to take individual and social responsibility. The fight against the virus cannot be done by frontline workers or Government agencies alone. Each and every one of us has to actively do our part. And there are many things that we all can do, which Minister Gan mentioned earlier: upholding good personal hygiene; taking of temperature daily; seeing a doctor if you are unwell; staying at home if that is the case; and if you have just returned from overseas, ensure you self-isolate for 14 days, even from your family members; and minimising of non-essential activities and contact with others during this period. All of these measures we will try to enforce but ultimately it is about individual responsibility, individual actions to comply with these guidelines. We are all enlisted in this national effort to slow down the spread of the virus and if we are disciplined about this, we will have a chance to control the situation and to protect ourselves, our family members, and the people around us. In these difficult times, we see the best of Singapore and Singaporeans at work. We had young people from the Youth Corps conducting door-to-door visits to share personal hygiene and safety tips with the elderly. We have had many volunteer groups like the Singapore Red Cross stepping up their befriending calls to many isolated seniors. We had many individuals and volunteers also packing and donating care packs and items like masks, hand sanitisers and thermometers to the elderly and vulnerable groups. In these difficult times, we see Singaporeans from all walks of life working flat out to fight the virus.”
“If many people start to build up their own individual stockpiles at home unnecessarily, it will lead to an apparent shortage on the supermarket shelves and deprive others who may have more urgent need for food and other essential supplies. Such a perception could precipitate more panic buying, which can quickly spiral out of control. There was, indeed, some concern initially when Malaysia imposed a Movement Control Order earlier this month. But the situation has now stabilised. The flow of goods and cargo, including food supplies, are largely continuing although we still have to be prepared there may well be disruptions along the way. As far as people movement is concerned, we have quickly found accommodations for the Malaysian workers who decided to stay in Singapore and this has allowed essential services like public transport to continue without interruption. Going forward, the Singapore-Malaysia Special Working Committee, co-chaired by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and Senior Minister Dato Sri' Ismail Sabri on the Malaysian side, is discussing a joint mitigation plan to ensure the safe and sustainable movement of people, goods and essential services between our two countries. In fact, if you have been following the news, Malaysia has now just extend its movement restrictions to 14 April, a few more weeks. If and when the Movement Control Order in Malaysia is lifted, we cannot go back to business as usual and have large groups of people moving across our land checkpoints on a daily basis. That will be too dangerous from a public health point of view. So, we will need extra precautions on both sides, which are being worked out, so as to minimise the spread of the virus across our land borders.”
“Our main message to everyone is this: minimise your non-essential activities and your contact with others during this period. You can talk about all the suspensions, different settings, but simple message – everyone minimise your non-essential activities and your contact with others during this period. We must all do our part to stop the spread of the disease and ensure that we do not end up with a major outbreak of new local clusters. Mr Speaker, Sir, we are now at a critical phase in our fight against the virus. The latest measures may help to slow down the spread of the virus. But it is also possible that despite these measures, the number of infected cases will continue to rise. If so, we will need more drastic measures and that would include suspending of schools and closure of some workplaces, aside from those providing essential services. So, we will keep the measures under constant review. If the situation worsens, we will apply extra brakes. If the situation improves, we may be able to ease off a little bit but not go back to baseline; perhaps to a less stringent set of measures because the pandemic will probably still not be over for quite some time. Given that we have been tightening our measures recently, I can understand why Singaporeans may also be concerned about the availability of essential supplies. In fact, we have been planning for potential disruption of supplies, be it food or medical supplies, over many years through stockpiling, local production and diversification of our overseas sources. Minister Chan Chun Sing and the MTI team are overseeing this work and they have been steadily ramping up their efforts across all fronts. Here, too, we need Singaporeans to cooperate.”
“We are suspending religious congregations and services. We are suspending tuition centres. Even though the numbers may be small, but children coming to these centres come from different schools and they intermingle. So, we are suspending that. We are cancelling and deferring all events and mass gatherings and we are putting restrictions on retail malls, museums and attractions where they have to reduce the density of people moving in these areas and ensure no coming together of groups of more than 10 persons. These measures will take effect from Thursday, 2359 hours, and will be in place for at least a month until the end of April, that is, two incubation cycles. With this significant slowing down of activities and movements, we hope we can break the potential transmission chains that may be happening. These are very major moves to slow down the spread of the virus. We recognise the inconvenience and disruption that these measures will bring to people’s lives and to businesses, but we have no easy options. That is the reality that countries everywhere are facing in tackling the virus. The more we try to stop or slow down the virus, the steeper will be the damage on our economies. So, we have to do what is necessary from the public health point of view first to save lives, slow down the virus and then, thereafter, do our best to manage the economic consequences. In the last few days, even as the Task force was deliberating over these measures, we have been sharing them, updating the MOF and economic teams working on the package of measures which Deputy Prime Minister Heng will be announcing tomorrow. So, I urge all Singaporeans to cooperate and take the latest set of measures very seriously.”
“This is the only way to allow Singaporeans to continue working while minimising their movements and contacts outside and it is also how we can reduce the load on our public transport system, especially during peak hours. The measures introduced last week have brought about changes. There are fewer crowded venues. When you go out, you can see that perceptibly. We now see alternate seats marked in dining venues, including in hawker centres and coffee shops. So, people are seated further apart. But we have to move faster, much faster. We still hear anecdotes of people going to discos and night clubs, and gathering in large groups. Our big worry is that these can become super-spreader events, spawning new clusters and potential runaway outbreaks. That is why we have proceeded with another set of brakes yesterday – even tighter safe distancing measures with the aim of limiting gatherings outside of work and school to less than 10 persons. Let me explain briefly the rationale for making these moves. In schools and workplaces, we have been taking precautions. For schools, for example, Minister Ong Ye Kung and the MOE team have put in place a range of measures to keep students safe. They sit further apart in classrooms. CCA activities and inter-school activities are suspended. So, we do not allow intermingling of students outside of the classroom. In workplaces, too, we are getting employers to take precautions, getting their staff to be seated separately and, as I have mentioned earlier, pushing harder on telecommuting. But outside of schools and workplaces, we continue to see many gatherings of people and that is what we want to minimise. That is why we are suspending all entertainment venues like bars, clubs and cinemas.”
“So, even after the COVID-19 outbreak is over – and it will be over after a while – we should continue to practise some of these new norms as a permanent part of our lives. I am not sure about the not-shaking-hands part. Frankly, at some point in time, we might want to get back to having some physical contact, but certainly not now. So, many things we will do on a sustained basis, some on a permanent basis even. But beyond the baseline measures, we need to rely on additional measures and that is what we call social or safe distancing. We can think of these measures as extra "brakes" that we apply to slow down the spread of the virus. Last Friday, we introduced a first set of safe distancing measures. We suspended senior group activities; we pushed for telecommuting and staggered hours at workplaces; we limited large events to less than 250 persons, and we said seats have to be apart, like what we are doing now in Parliament; and we wanted a 1-metre spacing in public spaces and F&B outlets. These measures are progressively being implemented. For example, public sector agencies are now pushing very hard on telecommuting. Where it is not possible, for example, for frontline and operational units, the agencies have implemented split teams by location or shifts, as well as staggered work hours, wherever it is practical. But the efforts on telecommuting must go beyond the public sector. All workplaces must go on telecommuting as default wherever they can. More employers are doing this, but some are still resistant and want their staff to be physically present in their offices when they can actually work from home. So, we will get all employers to push more aggressively on telecommuting.”
“One Harvard study called our contact tracing system the "gold standard". But even then, our detection rate is not 100%. It will never be. No system can be 100%. That means that the virus continues to circulate in our population and there are still cases out there in the community which will pop up. That is our greater concern. We monitor very closely the number of locally-transmitted cases, especially the ones that are unlinked – "unlinked" meaning that they are new, they are popping up and we do not know where they originate from. We are seeing more of such cases in recent days. That is why we need to put in place a whole range of additional public health measures to slow down the spread of the virus within Singapore itself. We can think of these additional public health measures at different levels. First, we have baseline measures which we are already doing. What is "baseline"? Things like daily temperature taking, seeing a doctor if you are unwell and staying at home and not shaking hands. Now, in true multiracial Singapore style, we have different ways of doing it. You can do the “Salam Mufti”, traditional Chinese style or Namaste. I think all of us are practising this in our daily lives now. We uphold good personal hygiene; wash our hands regularly and do not use our hands to touch our face and we uphold better public hygiene standards. We are stepping this up through SG Clean, a whole-of-nation effort that Minister Masagos is overseeing. All of these measures should be continued for a sustained period. In fact, some ought to be new permanent norms, like upholding higher hygiene standards and using common serving utensils instead of double dipping.”
“Despite our best efforts at controlling these flows at the borders, we have to be prepared for more cases to emerge, especially given the large number of returnees. That is why it is critical to quickly identify and isolate these cases and their close contacts through our on-going efforts at contact tracing and quarantine. Minister Gan spoke about this and how we are going to ramp up our capacity to do more contact tracing. This is essential because the minute you give up on contact tracing, then you are no longer able to manage the virus outbreak. This is the situation that many countries are facing now – they are no longer able to contact-trace the cases as well as their close contacts. So, we want to continue to maintain contact tracing and put all the close contacts under quarantine. As of last night, there are around 2,500 persons under quarantine, be it in their homes or in Government Quarantine Facilities. The numbers give you a sense of proportion. We are talking about 38,000 Stay-Home Notices because of the large volume of returnees. But within Singapore, the close contacts, we have 2,500 under quarantine. We will continue with the tough enforcement for both Stay-Home Notice and quarantine cases, including through all the various means we have put in place –remote monitoring, video calls and random house visits. We have put in place also very strict penalties for those who breach the requirements. They can be fined up to $10,000 or jailed for up to six months, or both. But as Minister Gan said just now, the biggest penalty is not just a fine or even a jail sentence but the costs that you impose on others if you were to breach these rules. We have an excellent detection system to pick up COVID-19 cases through our contact tracing procedures.”