Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates on Covid-19: https://t.me/mothershipsg

The Multi-Ministry Taskforce announced on June 15 that most restriction measures will be lifted as Singapore enters Phase 2.

More social activities and most businesses are allowed to resume operations during this period with safe management measures in place.

But the announcement was made after an increase in community cases was observed in recent weeks.

While the number is small, the trend has sparked some concerns about whether Singapore is really ready to further relax Covid-19 restrictions.

Covid-19 cases in Singapore stabilised

Mothership spoke to two infectious disease experts in Singapore to find out what they think about moving into Phase 2.

Paul Tambyah, the President of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, told Mothership that he is a little concerned that the number of cases reported inside and outside dormitories continues to be "high".

"While that is better than a rising number of cases, it is a bit disappointing after all the hard work put in by the MOH teams and the healthcare workers across the country," Tambyah said.

However, Singapore has reached a "plateau" where no significant drop in cases is observed, similar to the United States and Europe, he added.

Infectious disease specialist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Leong Hoe Nam, said that the current number of community cases is "acceptable" given that more activities have resumed in Phase 1.

With more people out and about, the increase in cases is expected.

However, most importantly, people are now aware of maintaining a safe distance from one another and are putting on their face masks when they are out, Leong added.

Surveillance and vigilance important to prevent new outbreaks

As Singapore enters Phase 2, both Tambyah and Leong urge members of the public to keep up personal hygiene, avoid heading out if feeling unwell and abide by the rules.

Adding on to that, Tambyah said with good contact tracing and widespread testing, there is a "good chance" that we can bring the number of Covid-19 cases to zero moving forward.

The current number of community cases shows that "the surveillance is good as it is picking up cases both from people working in the dormitories as well as in diverse groups such as school children," Tambyah said.

The contact tracing efforts on the school children will hopefully provide more information to the silent chains of transmission happening in the community before an outbreak like the earlier church clusters or SAFRA Jurong cluster, he added.

Leong also believes that Covid-19 cases in Singapore can continue to decline if the nation stays vigilant, citing examples such as Vietnam and Italy.

"The more vigilant we remain, the [fewer] community cases there will be," Leong said.

Otherwise, we might face situations like what's happening in Beijing.

"We must be constantly prepared for a rise in numbers anytime. It is real," he added.

"Lives and livelihoods. We want both. And it can be done, but only if everyone cooperates," Leong said.

Top photos via here and Paul Tambyah's Facebook