FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Singapore readies second virus aid package, won't lock down city

Singapore readies second virus aid package, won't lock down city

Singapore is preparing a second package of support measures as the coronavirus outbreak weighs on the economy, but it isn't going to lock down the city-state with more stringent measures, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The city-state will take steps to support firms and workers, Lee said in a televised address on Thursday evening, without providing financial details on the package. The government will assist companies with their costs and cash-flow, while also helping people keep their jobs and retrain them during their downtime, he said.

"Our economy is taking a big hit," the prime minister said. "Nobody has been spared. Everyone feels the impact, to different degrees."

Lee said Singapore expects more imported cases as the virus spreads globally but stressed that the country will not raise its disease response level.

"Let me emphasize this: the situation in Singapore remains under control. We are not going to DORSCON Red," he said, referring to the highest level on the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition color-coded framework. "We are not locking down our city like the Chinese, South Koreans or Italians have done."

In February, Singapore downgraded its forecast for the economy this year, projecting growth in a range of -0.5% to 1.5%, compared with a previous estimate of 0.5% to 2.5%.

The city-state last month allocated S$6.4 billion ($4.6 billion) in support for medical response as well as special packages to aid businesses and consumers. The country's president Halimah Yacob said Wednesday Singapore must consider tapping past reserves to help its people and businesses, a move not seen since 2009 when it faced its worst recession amid the global financial crisis.

Singapore will also need additional social distancing measures if cases jump, Lee said in his speech. These will be temporary, such as suspending school, staggering work hours, or compulsory telecommuting, he said.

"They will be extra 'brakes,' to be implemented when we see a spike in cases," Lee said. Singapore has seen a pickup in new cases in recent days, with the country reporting nine new infections Thursday, bringing the total to 187. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a pandemic as it spreads rapidly outside China.

Singapore will close all of its mosques for at least five days starting on Friday after about 90 of its citizens attended a mass event in Kuala Lumpur from which a number of individuals were infected with COVID-19, according to statement Thursday by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. Friday prayers at all mosques March 13 will be suspended in the city-state.

Earlier this week, a top Singaporean official, Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran, warned against complacency in the face of rising cases, saying the affluent island needs to impose longer-term changes to deal with a rapidly evolving epidemic.

In its efforts to halt the spread of the virus, Singapore has carried out stringent tracing and containment measures, and is helped by a top-notch health system and a small population that's largely accepting of government orders.But it's stopped short of more aggressive social distancing measures like closing schools and offices. Other places in the region like Hong Kong and Japan have already taken such steps. In Hong Kong, schools have been closed since January and won't re-open until April at the earliest, while many professionals are working from home.The increase in new cases of infection in Singapore after a relative lull is underscoring concerns that the highly-infectious pathogen will come back in waves to Asian countries that have seemingly weathered a first spike.

 

 

 

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