Covid-19 'stress test' reveals social capital is strong in Singapore: Heng

Commuters on an MRT train yesterday. As new evidence emerged, the authorities here changed their advice on the wearing of masks, and people's willingness to adapt has been invaluable in the fight against Covid-19, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee
Commuters on an MRT train yesterday. As new evidence emerged, the authorities here changed their advice on the wearing of masks, and people's willingness to adapt has been invaluable in the fight against Covid-19, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Singaporeans' willingness to adapt and respond to new advice as fresh medical evidence surfaces on Covid-19 shows the country has the social capital to emerge stronger from the pandemic and deal with future crises, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.

Another key aspect is how Singaporeans of various backgrounds have rallied to help the less well-off and showed a civic-mindedness worth commending, he said in an interview with The Straits Times and The Business Times yesterday.

Mr Heng, who is also the Finance Minister, was asked what role social capital has played in Singapore's handling of the Covid-19 crisis, following his call in Parliament last week for Singaporeans to strengthen social reserves across all levels of society for the country to emerge stronger from the pandemic.

Singaporeans' willingness to carefully observe precautionary measures, such as social distancing, shows "a certain discipline in our people, and also a certain trust - that when our health authorities say this, it is advice to be taken seriously", he said.

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"At the same time, what I'm also very encouraged by is that people are responding to changes - even changes in the advice that has been given - rather well."

He noted that at the start of the pandemic, the idea that asymptomatic patients could transmit the virus was not known, even in the medical community, and was established only "after lots of work had been done".

With new evidence, the Ministry of Health and the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19 changed their advice on the wearing of masks, and people's willingness to adapt has been invaluable in the fight against Covid-19, he said.

Last Friday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) updated its guidance to recommend that governments ask everyone to wear fabric face masks in public areas, where there is a risk of transmission of Covid-19, to help reduce the virus' spread.

The new advice supports countries like Singapore which require face coverings in public settings.

Mr Heng said: "I would say that the willingness of our people to change as conditions change is a very important quality for us to be able to manage this fast-moving situation."

There is no evidence so far that the virus is mutating, but should this happen, "I am quite certain that the way we deal with it and the advice on how to deal with it will also change", he said.

Singapore's social reserves have also been evident in the different ways people have shown their mettle and solidarity with their fellow men in recent months, he added, citing the Silver Generation Ambassadors he spoke to who have been reaching out to seniors staying at home.

"Many of them (seniors) felt very lonely because you are confined at home during the circuit breaker, and so they ended up speaking for a fairly long period with them," he said. "So I said: 'Thank you very much for doing that'."

Many business leaders in Singapore have also been appreciative of the wage support being provided by the Government and have made an effort to keep their workers, while union leaders and the National Trades Union Congress have been very focused on helping workers, he said.

Others who deserve kudos include volunteers manning the National Care Hotline and counsellors with social service agencies who are finding new ways to look after people with disabilities and people with special needs, he added.

This is a strength of Singapore's society that should be recognised and nurtured, Mr Heng said.

"They are all adapting, and I'm very glad that we have so many volunteers who are working hard at this and I really want to thank all of them," he said. "This is the social reserves I talked about."

He added: "We have gone through a very big stress test, and I hope that this stress test makes us even stronger."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 09, 2020, with the headline Covid-19 'stress test' reveals social capital is strong in Singapore: Heng. Subscribe