COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor: Singapore
Overview
The 2nd updated edition of the Singapore COVID-19 HSRM features developments on Singapore’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on strategies to enter a “new normal” and reopen, manage new variants, and vaccination.
In early 2020, Singapore implemented a series of Circuit Breaker measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country. By October 2020, local cases dropped to 0 to 3 cases per day; by 2021 the COVID‐19 situation in Singapore has been most notably characterized by the emergence of new strains of the virus from other countries. Singapore remains on Phase-3 – heightened alert – until the COVID-19 situation improves globally.
The country’s latest COVID-19 roadmap focuses on transiting to a “new normal” and treating COVID-19 as an endemic disease. The “new normal” will be enabled by three key initiatives: more and faster vaccinating, testing and contact tracing to enable citizens to live to adapt to live with the virus. Citizens with COVID-19 will be allowed to recover at home unless needed, and monitoring will shift to measuring daily case totals to the number of those with COVID-19 who are very sick or in ICU. Measures to ease professional and business rules, travel to select countries and other strategies included in Singapore’s COVID-19 roadmap. Alongside, Singapore has prioritized COVID-19 vaccinations, and has a robust vaccination policy which aims to provide vaccines to all Singaporeans and long‐term residents by the end of 2021. A progressive vaccination system with vaccination given to priority populations including healthcare workers and vulnerable groups, first, and then then extended to those at higher risk of exposure such as educators, taxi drivers etc. R&D for improved testing tools is also ongoing.
How to Cite this publication
Chen J, Ko KC, Leow A, Yap J, Mandyam NK and Lim J. COVID-19 health system response monitor: Singapore. New Delhi: World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia; 2021.