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Singapore must plan as if Covid-19 will last until the end of 2020 or even longer, said Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong in a ministerial statement in Parliament on Wednesday, Mar. 25.

Until then, and in the coming weeks, we're likely to see the number of confirmed cases here continue to rise as some of Singapore's 200,000 overseas citizens make journeys home.

He highlighted the measures that Singapore has taken so far in fighting the virus within the country and working with international partners, and shared that WHO estimates that the earliest a vaccine could be ready is likely to be sometime next year.

Extensive testing conducted

Gan shared that Singapore has conducted roughly 39,000 tests for Covid-19 to date, which translates to 6,800 tests per million people in the country.

He compared the figure to those of South Korea and Taiwan, which have tested 6,500 and 1,000 per million people, respectively.

The tests are important for detecting as many cases as possible, as soon as possible, said Gan, who noted that a group of scientists at A*STAR recently developed a rapid test kit that he hopes will go to clinical trials as soon as possible.

Research efforts

Gan also highlighted Singapore's research efforts surrounding the Covid-19 situation.

A therapeutic workgroup to address Covid-19, comprising members from various hospitals and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), has been put together, he said.

The workgroup is meant to work on guidelines for repurposed drugs with antiviral activity to treat infected patients in Singapore.

He also shared that the National Centre for Infectious Disease (NCID) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) have worked together with Singapore Blood Bank to collect donations of convalescent blood plasma from recovered patients for treatment for other Covid-19 patients

Local doctors have also been participating in international clinical trials, Gan added, collaborating with organisations such as the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Working on vaccines but not likely to be ready until next year

Gan also shared information about the development of a vaccine for the virus.

Scientists worldwide, he said, have successfully isolated and cultured the virus. This will help with the development of a vaccine.

The global community has also worked together in order to identify candidates for the vaccine and begin conducting testing, he said.

Some institutes such as Moderna Inc have already started human trials as of last week, he said. Bloomberg reported on Mar. 23 that Moderna Inc. has said its experimental vaccine could be available to some as soon as this fall.

Locally, Duke-NUS Medical School is working with Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) — a global alliance financing and coordinating the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases — as well as other international partners to develop a clinical trial for a vaccine.

They have plans to start testing sometime this year, said Gan.

"With all these ongoing efforts, WHO estimates that the earliest a vaccine will be ready would likely be sometime next year", he added.

Need to plan as if Covid-19 will last until end of year or longer

Covid-19 has taken a toll on our economy, said Gan, and we don't know how long the virus outbreak will last:

"We do not know how long the pandemic will last, but we have to plan on the basis that Covid-19 will be with us for a long while, maybe till the end of the year or longer, and ensure that we have the resources and capabilities to see us through."

He added that the virus' economic impact will extend "way beyond the pandemic" and will not be over quickly, and that many Singaporeans and businesses will need to make adjustments.

Gan acknowledged that the measures announced yesterday to close all bars, clubs, cinemas, and tuition centres in the country will impact many businesses and workers.

Thus, he said, "The government will introduce greater support for the economy and workers in response to the situation".

Top image via Gov.sg and Huge Llewelyn / Flickr