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At the dawn of 2021, Singapore is verging on normality:
Last-minute dinner reservations are tough to secure
Roads are full of traffic again
Children are in school https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Last-minute dinner reservations are tough to secureRoads are full of traffic againChildren are in school https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Singapore’s GDP is projected to increase between 4 and 6% this year, compared with a contraction of 5.8% in 2020.
This brighter outlook and cautious easing of restrictions reflects Singapore’s success at containing Covid-19 infections https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
This brighter outlook and cautious easing of restrictions reflects Singapore’s success at containing Covid-19 infections https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Yet Singapore’s coronavirus-fighting achievements rest on a model that isn’t easily exported.
Results are enabled by a degree of state influence that other countries might find uncomfortable https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Results are enabled by a degree of state influence that other countries might find uncomfortable https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Singapore is now in phase three of its reopening which allows:
Gatherings of eight people
Congregations at religious services
Workers to be in their offices more easily
If this sounds enviable, consider the amount of compliance it took to get here https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Gatherings of eight peopleCongregations at religious servicesWorkers to be in their offices more easilyIf this sounds enviable, consider the amount of compliance it took to get here https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
It’s compulsory to:
Swipe into any establishment using its QR code, preferably with the official TraceTogether app
Submit to a temperature check
Wear a mask https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Swipe into any establishment using its QR code, preferably with the official TraceTogether appSubmit to a temperature checkWear a mask https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
The first-time offence for not wearing a mask is a fine of $225; second transgressions receive a $754 penalty. Repeat offences invite prosecution.
Even kids above age seven are expected to comply https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Even kids above age seven are expected to comply https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
The effectiveness of Singapore’s approach lies in its combination of subtlety and pervasiveness.
By mid-December, about 65% of the population used either the TraceTogether app or alternative tokens. Even taxis have barcodes to be scanned https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
By mid-December, about 65% of the population used either the TraceTogether app or alternative tokens. Even taxis have barcodes to be scanned https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Safe Distancing Ambassadors, civilians who make sure people don't get too close to each other, were an ubiquitous and forceful presence at first.
Once exceptional, their presence is now mundane https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Once exceptional, their presence is now mundane https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Compare Singapore to elsewhere in the world:
Mask-wearing was just made mandatory in Sydney
In France, ski resorts have sued the government to keep lifts operating
Millions of people passed through U.S. airports in the week leading up to Christmas https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Mask-wearing was just made mandatory in Sydney In France, ski resorts have sued the government to keep lifts operatingMillions of people passed through U.S. airports in the week leading up to Christmas https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
Singapore didn’t suddenly discover big government during this pandemic.
From the companies that drove the development of the past six decades to supermarkets run by government-aligned unions, public-sector activism is one of Singapore’s defining qualities https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
From the companies that drove the development of the past six decades to supermarkets run by government-aligned unions, public-sector activism is one of Singapore’s defining qualities https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
For other nations to follow suit will require a big psychological shift.
But another year of health-care chaos in London, New York or Sydney, and attitudes about the boundaries of state responsibility and the domain of individual liberty might change https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
But another year of health-care chaos in London, New York or Sydney, and attitudes about the boundaries of state responsibility and the domain of individual liberty might change https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-03/singapore-s-covid-success-isn-t-easily-replicated
