Recently, Singapore officially transitioned into a new stage of the pandemic, significantly easing restrictions.
Now, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is evaluating if more Covid-19 measures can be removed in time to come.
On Monday (4 Apr), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced that TraceTogether and other vaccination-differentiated safe management measures (VDS) would be reviewed for relevance.
However, Mr Ong has also reminded Singaporeans that the pandemic is ongoing. As individuals, we must continue adhering to the measures still in place.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Mr Ong said in Parliament on Monday (4 Apr) that MOH will evaluate TraceTogether and VDS’s necessity.
Speaking in response to a question about contact tracing, Mr Ong stated that further progress had been made in living with Covid-19.
As a result, the costs and benefits of TraceTogether have changed.
For one, MOH no longer relies on the app for contact tracing of the general public. Instead, those who test positive are expected to be responsible and inform contacts to self-monitor.
Elaborating that Singapore is now past the stage of contact tracing every case, Mr Ong said the MTF would review its relevance and application to stand it down when it is no longer needed.
However, institutions such as schools will continue to use the app to contact trace more vulnerable cases.
If discontinued, the app can also be restarted at any time if a more “dangerous variant of concern” emerges.
On the other hand, the evaluation of VDS will depend on the stability of the situation in hospitals.
When the hospital situation is stable and improving, VDS might be reduced or removed entirely.
CNA reported that Mr Ong has also warned the general public not to get too complacent.
After all, the pandemic is not over yet. There is still a need for VDS and SafeEntry to be practised.
Furthermore, the eased restrictions might lead to an uptick in cases, the burden of which will be borne by hospitals.
During the session in Parliament, he said keeping VDS, for now, is the more “cautious and correct course of action”.
Mr Ong noted that 3.5% of Singapore’s adult population remains unvaccinated at present.
Non-vaccinated persons add to the burden of businesses conducting SafeEntry checks, enforcement agencies carrying out spot checks, and hospitals already suffering a great patient load.
Mr Ong has thus urged everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Singaporeans have greatly welcomed the relaxation of restrictions. Many of us appreciate the privilege to now walk outdoors with our masks off or dine in with more than just five friends.
To allow for even more easing of precautions, we must do our part to adhere to safety management rules wherever we can for now.
Hopefully, if Singaporeans exercise social responsibility, we may no longer need to whip out our TraceTogether at every location in time to come.
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Featured image adapted from Vivian Balakrishnan on Facebook.
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