Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing recently gave an interview on Bloomberg speaking about the impact of Covid-19 on Singapore's economy, as well as his views on the virus situation.
Indicators for the end of the Circuit Breaker
Haslinda Amin asked if Chan was confident that June 1 would be a "go-ahead" in terms of lifting the Circuit Breaker measures in Singapore.
Chan said: "I think it's too early to say. We will continue to take calibrated measures as we have done over the entire period."
In the interview, he also outlined three key indicators that the Singapore government is looking at, towards the end of the circuit breaker:
- Fatality rates continue to remain low
- Community spread is brought down to a single digit, or "low teens"
- The situation in the migrant worker dormitories are under control, with them receiving a good quality of care
Economic impact
Due to Covid-19, Singapore is expecting our GDP to shrink in 2020.
Chan pointed out that this is due to factors such as the widespread impact of Covid-19 and connectivity between major economies.
Chan also spoke about the economic impact of the pandemic, and how delays are to be expected for projects in the construction and shipping industries.
He also said that the government has to put in place the necessary systems to “progressively reopen the economy”.
GE amid Covid-19?
The interviewer asked if Singapore might hold an election amid the pandemic this year, pointing out that South Korea had "successfully" done so.
Chan said that the government's energy is focused on tackling the crisis.
As to when the election should be held? "That's the prerogative of the prime minister," Chan said.
"At this point in time, we are focused to make sure that the health of our people, including our migrant worker community, is well taken care of and that our economy will be able to progressively recover."
You can watch the full interview here.
Top photo via Bloomberg video screenshot