Singapore prepares road map for recovery as Heng warns virus will weigh on budget ‘for years’

Five-person limit for gatherings and overseas travel restrictions are among the measures that could soon be loosened

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat pledges one-off additional financial support for parents to have children

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Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. Photo: EPA

Published: 6:39pm, 5 Oct 2020Updated: 9:12pm, 5 Oct 2020

Singapore is preparing for its final phase of economic reopening as coronavirus infections stabilise, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Monday even as he reiterated that the economic outlook was grim amid government efforts to save jobs and plan for the post-pandemic era.

Heng, in a parliament speech, said a road map would be revealed in the coming weeks with Health Minister Gan Kim Yong saying the government could consider lifting the five-person limit for gatherings and allowing more overseas travel.

“We are particularly concerned about dining as we need to remove our masks so as to eat and drink but we tend to also talk at the same time. The risk is considerably higher than activities in which we can keep our masks on and maintain a safe distance,” he said.

Gan said Singapore had learned from other economies that had lifted Covid-19 restrictions too soon and realised that doing so prematurely could cause cases to rise again. While Gan did not point to specific examples, Hong Kong was among the economies that had seen a third wave of infections in July after it exempted several groups of people from testing and quarantine when they entered Hong Kong.

But neither was it sustainable to maintain tight restrictions for a prolonged period of time, he said.

“If all of us continue to work together and keep our guard up even as more activities resume, we will be able to keep the pandemic under control and progress towards further opening up our economy and society steadily.”