Co-chair of the Multi Ministry Taskforce, Ong Ye Kung, said in a lengthy Facebook post that there is increasing consensus among experts that Covid-19 will likely become an endemic.
An endemic means that the virus will continue mutating and circulate in the community, much like the Influenza.
He said that we will need to adapt to this and learn to live with it, while keeping ourselves safe.
Fortunately, Singapore’s capabilities have been built up over the past year and we can now test, contact trace and isolate very quickly.
A good part of Singapore’s population has also already been vaccinated.
He said that with these defences in place, we can keep most business open and carry on with our daily lives, while putting the circuit breaker response behind us.
However, he highlighted that going further, in order to keep F&B and gyms open and even to resume travel, our vaccination rate has to be higher.
This would leave us better protected even with the virus circulating in the community.
He shared that Singapore has crossed the 50% vaccination mark for people covered with the first dose.
About 36% of the population have received 2 doses.
He appealed to the people to please go for your jab when it is your turn and encourage your family and friends to do so.
Images: Ong Ye Kung Facebook