SINGAPORE: Singapore's government on Thursday said it should be possible "to live normally" with Covid-19, which it expects to become "endemic" like influenza.
The three ministers responsible for the government's coronavirus response announced "a broad plan" to "turn the pandemic into something much less threatening."
Pointing to the example of influenza, Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that "we can work towards a similar outcome for Covid-19."
"People live with it," they said, writing in The Straits Times newspaper. "They carry on with their daily activities even during the flu season, taking simple precautions or getting an annual flu jab."
The ministers hope to have two-thirds of Singapore's 5.7 million people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by August 9, Singapore's national holiday, and to provide large-scale testing that would enable events to be staged and travel to resume.
"We need to make Covid-19 testing fast and easy," they said, citing the development by local scientists of one-minute breathalysers.
"We cannot rely only on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which can be uncomfortable and takes many hours to produce results," the ministers added.
Singapore's Health Ministry on Thursday reported 23 new coronavirus cases, taking the total to almost 62,500, most of which were recorded last year.
Singapore's virus-related death toll, at 35, is one of the world's lowest. The government this week allowed in-person dining at restaurants to resume, ending a brief ban put in place after a slight rise in case numbers.
Around 3 million people, or just over 50% of Singapore's population, have received the first dose of a vaccine. About 2 million of those have received the second dose also.
"We could allow gatherings, involving just vaccinated persons to have larger group sizes, and also relax the social distancing rules in such settings," Lawrence Wong, co-chair of Singapore's coronavirus taskforce said.
"Potentially we are working on some new guidelines for people in Singapore to be able to travel abroad."
Authorities said they will allow more migrant workers and migrant domestic workers to enter Singapore.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said Singapore is working closely with Novavax Inc and awaiting its application for regulatory approval and they hope to receive its vaccine by the end of the year.
Singapore's government currently uses Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, with Sinovac vaccines available privately. — Agencies
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