(Singapore, May 26, 2020) Singapore’s economy will shrink by up to 7% this year but resuming economic activities could mean more coronavirus cases, government officials have said.
MTI said today that Singapore’s economy will shrink by 4-7% this year, worse than the 1-4% contraction earlier predicted.
It said that there were significant uncertainties in the global economy, with a risk that subsequent waves of infections in major economies could further disrupt economic activity.
If infections start to rise and strict measures such as lockdowns and movement restrictions are reimposed, the downturn in these economies could be more severe and prolonged than expected.
“We have been able to bring down the number of new community cases significantly. But we have not eradicated the virus,” he said.
“All the countries that have been beaten the virus to low levels have seen a rebound in cases when they resumed activities – more when they resumed precipitously; less when they proceeded cautiously.”
The fact is that there are still hidden cases circulating amongst the general population. For example, when we did a test of around 16,000 pre-school teachers recently, the government detected 8 cases.
“There are bound to be other undetected asymptomatic cases in the community. That’s why we have to move cautiously.”
He said that not everything can re-open at the same time, and tough decisions have to be made on which ones go first.
“For example, since we have permitted physiotherapy sessions, should we now also allow spas and massage centers to re-open (as has been requested by some business owners)?”
“We would have liked to say “yes” to all the requests. But each time we ease up on something, we introduce many more face-to-face contacts and people movement within the community. That in turn means higher transmission risks and the likelihood of more infections,” the minister said.
But he ensures that the Government will continue to provide assistance to businesses that are unable to open, as well as to households and workers. DPM Heng Swee Keat will announce the details of these support measures in his 4th Budget of the Year in Parliament today.
In an earlier post, he called for locals to embrace working from home as the new norm.
“Many employers and managers will need to adjust their mindsets to this new normal. It’s no longer about having all your staff physically present at work. Even if they have to be on site, consider if they really need to do so every day,” he said.
