After the 2-month circuit breaker, our data shows that the majority of Covid-19 cases in Singapore are found in the foreign workers' dormitories.  The government is doing a good job containing the situation by testing them aggressively and isolating them effectively.  Apart from this group, there are now less than 700 Covid-19 patients in hospitals with 8 in ICU and a total of 23 fatalities.

To prepare for school reopening on 2 June, the latest testing results on 16,000 pre-school staff show just 8 positives, a 0.05% infection rate, bearing testament to the low community spread.

Singaporeans and residents here are appreciative of the sacrifices that we have to make as a community to limit the spread of the virus, but 2 months of the circuit breaker has already caused substantial mental and financial hardship.

Given the low numbers in the community, could we allow more businesses  to open  and a little more normalcy to be restored to the people?  

As people return to work and schools reopen, can we allow bookstores and stationery shops to open?  Could we allow department stores selling household goods to open?  As long as these businesses implement the same precautionary measures in social distancing, contact tracing apps (SafeEntry) and insist all customers wear masks similar to the supermarkets, surely the situation can be kept under control?  These are some examples and as we examine the trade-off between public health risks and the economic and social costs, we could allow many more businesses to reopen in June as we exit the circuit breaker.

For individuals, since the risk of infection in an outdoor setting is relatively low, can we allow people to engage in outdoor activities but by limiting the group size?  Lockdown fatigue is already setting in, and more people are likely to flout the rules as lockdown continues.

The reality is whenever we ease the restrictions (be it Phase 2 or 3 and until a vaccine is found), the increase in new infections is inevitable. We have to expect that and have in place management measures to deal with it - efficient contact tracing, quarantine facilities preparation, issuance/management of quarantine orders and enforcement, etc - to continue to keep hospitalisation and death rates low.  Our government has put much of these in place already.

I believe "we can afford a bit of courage" (quote Angela Merkel).  This seems relevant to us given where we are now.