Singapore, Jun 9 () Singaporeans have to be "realistic" and prepare themselves for "more challenging times" as the coronavirus is not likely to go away soon, a senior minister said on Tuesday, urging people to stay "disciplined and vigilant" in the fight against COVID-19.
Singapore has reported over 38,510 cases and more than 23 deaths due to the disease.
"The vast majority of our population have not been exposed to the virus and are still vulnerable to the disease," National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said in a televised address.
He said there is no guarantee that the drugs currently undergoing clinical trials will be effective. And despite the intensive international efforts, it will take a long time for any vaccine to be ready and available for mass distribution.
"So we have to be realistic and gird ourselves for more challenging times. It is not likely that the virus will go away. Our population will be vulnerable for a long time, in a world where COVID-19 is all around. We must therefore adapt to COVID-19, learn to live with it over the long-term," Wong said.
"What's critical is people's behaviour and mindsets. We must stay disciplined and vigilant, and not let our guard down...Conversely, if we are lax in our personal precautions, new cases and new clusters will multiply quickly, and despite our best efforts to test and trace, we might end up in another circuit breaker down the road," the minister noted.
As Singapore reopens following a two-month "circuit breaker" period, its ability to control COVID-19 infections has becomes critical, said Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force on the virus.
Wong was speaking at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, as part of a series of national broadcasts where Cabinet ministers will lay out the nation's plans post-COVID-19. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong started the series with a broadcast to the nation last Sunday.
Wong said Singapore is procuring more COVID-19 test kits, building more laboratory capacity, as well as recruiting and training more laboratory technicians and people to carry out swabs and take blood samples.
In April, about 2,000 tests a day were done. The country is now able to conduct about 13,000 tests a day and is "on track" to reach 40,000 tests a day in the coming months, he said.
Apart from standard testing methods, Wong said authorities are extracting waste water from manholes to test for viral fragments. "This provides an additional indicator to tell us if a specific group, such as those living in a dormitory, has infected people amongst them," he said.
Singapore is also using serology tests to identify those who were previously infected but may have since recovered, and have developed antibodies that can help them fight the virus. GS SCY