Living With The Virus

In his speech outlining how Singapore can beat the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong painted a scenario where people will be able to go to work and meet their friends, take part in large-scale events such as concerts, and eventually even go around without masks outdoors.

He also stated that Singaporeans will have to learn to live with the virus. “One day, this global pandemic will subside but I do not expect Covid-19 to disappear. It will remain with humankind and become endemic. The virus will continue to circulate in pockets of the global population for years to come,” he said.

This is the prevailing view in much of the world. “Eradicating this virus right now from the world is a lot like trying to plan the construction of a stepping-stone pathway to the Moon. It’s unrealistic,” says Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. In Singapore, ministers are also saying much the same. Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said yesterday that in such a scenario, “it is no longer about going after each and every infected case”.

He explained that even if a person were to be infected despite being vaccinated, the infection will likely be very mild or even asymptomatic.

“So, we will need a different protocol for such cases,” Mr Wong said at a virtual news conference by the multi-ministry task force on COVID-19, which he co-chairs.