Singaporean Ambassador Catherine Wong Siow Ping (left) receives a donation of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction test kits from Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung in May (Photo courtesy of the Singaporean Embassy)
Singapore celebrates 55 years of independence this year. It is an important occasion that we traditionally celebrate with a big National Day Parade. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parade elements will be decentralised and streamed live on television and the internet.
Indeed, the pandemic has caused major disruptions all over the world. This once-in-a-generation crisis has changed the way we live, work and play. To tackle the pandemic, Singapore imposed a “circuit breaker” from April 7 to June 1, 2020, consisting of stringent restrictions on large-scale social gatherings. Having controlled the spread of the virus over the last two months, we have started gradually opening up our economy and society. Retail stores and restaurants have re-opened, while international passengers can transit through Changi Airport. At the same time, safety remains a top priority, with safe distancing requirements and restrictions on social gatherings in place.
A key pillar of our COVID-19 strategy is taking an active and rigorous testing approach. We are increasing our testing capacity from around 8,000 tests per day currently to 40,000 tests per day by the end of the year. We are proactively testing population groups that are deemed vulnerable or have a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19, including foreign workers in dormitories, pre-school staff, and staff and residents of residential homes for seniors. While this has led to more cases being detected, it enables us to identify and ring-fence new cases early, thereby preventing further spread of the virus. We are also strengthening our contact tracing capabilities by leveraging on technology. As a result, the number of new cases in the community has declined. Most importantly, we have kept the mortality rate low at less than 0.1 percent – among the lowest in the world. This reflects the high quality of Singapore’s healthcare system. Looking ahead, we are building up our vaccine manufacturing capacity by investing heavily in research and development.
Through these efforts, Singapore remains a safe hub for business, investment, and trade. We remain committed to keeping our seaports and airports open and to continue our critical role in facilitating global trade in essential goods and services. We are also looking to progressively reopen our borders with the necessary health safeguards in place.
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| Ambassador Catherine Wong received, on behalf of Singapore, a donation of 200 made-in-Vietnam Vsmart VFS-510 ventilators from Vingroup JSC. During this challenging period, Vietnam has been a valuable partner and friend to Singapore – a testament to the close ties built over the years. We are very grateful to the Vietnamese government agencies and private organisations that donated medical equipment to Singapore. Despite the pandemic, we are continuing to strengthen the Vietnam-Singapore Strategic Partnership. For instance, we are actively collaborating to keep markets open and supply chains connected. Agri-trade is increasing, with deepening cooperation on rice and other food products. Notwithstanding the global economic gloom, Vietnam remains an attractive market for Singapore. Singapore is Vietnam’s third largest foreign investor, with cumulative investment of more than 47 billion USD in more than 2,000 projects. VNF |
