COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore

On 31 December 2019, health authorities in China reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) a cluster of viral pneumonia cases of unknown cause in Wuhan, Hubei Province,[12] and an investigation was launched in early January 2020.[13] On 30 January, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), after mounting evidence that the novel coronavirus had spread to 18 countries and completion of investigation in Wuhan.[14][15]

Throughout the outbreak, cases were traced to clusters that several cases had visited during a particular time period, with venues including religious institutions,[16] workplaces,[17] construction sites,[18] a number of schools,[19] private events,[20] retail businesses,[21][22][23] and a hospital.[24] Imported cases also became a source of infection in March.[25][26] From early April to late September, most new cases were at foreign worker dormitories and construction sites,[27][28] while imported cases formed the bulk of new cases from early October; as of 5 February 2021, there are a total of 54,509 dormitory residents, 2,315 cases in the community, and 2,825 imported cases.[29] 20 April 2020 saw the highest number of daily cases at 1,426,[30] while 12 May saw 20,799 active cases – the highest since the outbreak began.[31] The last date of any patient in ICU was 22 January 2021.[32] 14 August 2020 was the first time since June that there were no reported community cases,[33] while 1 October 2020 was the first time since April that the daily number of imported cases exceeded that of dormitory cases.[34] 13 October was the first time in over six months that no dormitory cases were reported.[35]

Internationally, the case fatality ratio (CFR) for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS in 2003.[36][37] The transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus powering the COVID-19 pandemic has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[38][36] However, Singapore's death rate has been one of the world's lowest, both in terms of CFR and per capita.[39][40] This may be attributed to the fact that the bulk of the cases are restricted to the migrant workers living in dormitories away from the general population.[39] These migrant workers tend to be younger,[39] with an average age of 30 years and 2 months old when surveyed in 2015, and the healthcare system was never overwhelmed.[41][42] The authorities also tested the entire dormitory population for COVID-19 infection, leading to many otherwise asymptomatic infections being picked up.[43][44] A research by the European Commission suggests that the CFR for SARS-CoV-2 virus picks up in cases 50 years of age and above.[45] The elderly in the general population in Singapore have been advised to stay at home as much as possible,[39] while resident-facing staff in old folks homes are being housed on site or separately in hotels.[46]

Other factors contributing to Singapore's exceptionally low CFR include the country's use of extensive contact tracing and testing to identify cases, mandatory mask-wearing, hospitalisation of all high-risk patients, and comparatively narrow criteria for classifying COVID-19 deaths.[47]

Prevalence studies on the population have shown that 4 in 1600 in the community, or about 0.25%, have previously been infected with COVID-19, while at least 47% of migrant workers living in dormitories have tested positive by PCR or serological tests.[48][49]

National authorities began reporting suspected cases on 4 January,[50] however the first confirmed case was reported on 23 January, a tourist from Wuhan.[51] Until 30 January, there were a total to 13 confirmed cases, all of whom were visitors to Singapore from China.[52][53] The first case involving a Singaporean was confirmed on 31 January after returning from Wuhan.[54] Contact tracing procedures were put in place to identify close contacts of the confirmed cases who were placed under 14-day quarantines in order to ring-fence the potential spread of the virus.[55][56]

These imported cases eventually lead to clusters of local transmissions being formed. The first cluster was reported on 4 February at Yong Thai Hang, a shop that mainly serves Chinese tourists. It was identified as the locus of the infection where four women without recent history of travel to China contracted the virus.[57] The shop was affected when a tour group from Guangxi, China visited it along with other locations such as the Diamond Industries Jewellery Company at Harbour Drive, where another case occurred, while touring Singapore.[58] The tour group had returned to China and the Chinese authorities had confirmed that two of the group was infected.[57] Authorities then raised the nation's Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level from Yellow to Orange after more cases with unclear origins surfaced on 7 February,[59][60] with Prime Minister Lee expressing his worry about some cases with no known chain of transmission of the infection directly from Wuhan or indirectly via cases traced in Singapore. He suggested that it might become "futile to try to trace every contact".[61][62] More clusters emerged at various locations, where there were large scale gatherings such as a business conference, Chinese New Year dinner gatherings and church-related activities.[63] Two clusters were linked when several cases in each cluster was found to have infected each other through serological tests, the first such successful test in the world.[64]

In March, as the number of cases began to rise exponentially around the world, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) began to encourage Singaporeans to return home. Various institutes of higher learning recalled their students currently on overseas internship or exchange, and the MFA began liaising with airlines to facilitate flights to key cities when necessary during this period, to cater to demand for return flights to Singapore.[65] This led to an increase in number of imported cases, in which over 70% of cases from 16 to 19 March were Singaporeans and long-term pass holders returning from overseas.[66]

On April 7, circuit breaker (lockdown) measures were imposed on the general population. The bulk of cases began to shift from imported cases to migrant workers living in dormitories, resulting in the authorities imposing a mandatory quarantine of 20,000 migrant workers in two dormitories gazetted as isolation areas, namely the S11 Dormitory and Westlite Toh Guan.[67] Following which, the number of cases in migrant worker dormitories began to soar as more clusters were detected in other migrant worker dormitories, reaching a single-daily high of 1,426 cases recorded amongst migrant workers on 20 April.[68] On 21 April, MOM announced that all foreign workers in dormitories were to stop work until 4 May to curb the rising spread of the coronavirus among the groups that were hit the hardest.[69] The number of daily cases amongst migrant workers living in dormitories gradually decreased but continued to remain in the hundreds until early August, with aggressive testing by the authorities.[70] April also marked a shift in policy. The government stopped automatically admitting the infected in hospitals and instead created community care facilities for those who were at low risk, which allowed hospitals to focus only on those in higher risk categories. At the peak on 12 May, there were 19,667 patients in community care facilities. This allowed hospitals to reduce bed take up related to COVID-19 from more than a thousand to several hundred in a few weeks. 18 September saw the first time since the crisis spread to work dormitories that the daily dorm case number fell into single digits.[71]

From May onwards, the vast majority of cases were reported in dormitories, with community cases never rising above 24 cases, which was reported on 11 July.[72] Nevertheless, while numbers in the dorms remained elevated in May, 20 April in fact represented the peak of daily cases reported among dormitory workers. By August, it was clear that the situation in dormitories was being brought under control, with new daily cases among dorm workers finally falling below 100 on 11 August. On 11 August, Ministry of Manpower announced that all dormitories had been declared cleared of COVID-19 (except for those blocks that were being used for quarantine facilities).[73] By 1 October less than 300 people were being housed in community care facilities, down from the almost 20,000 from the May peak.[74] However, it also became clear that controlling the disease was going to be extremely difficult. While total case numbers had continued to decline, unlinked community cases had begun to edge up and some dorms that had been cleared of infection were once again put on lockdown. A significant milestone was achieved on 13 October when it was announced that, for the first time since March, there were no local cases of infection. This was followed shortly by 16 October, when the number of active cases fell to less than 100 – the first time since 12 March,[75][76] and by 25 November, when it was announced that there were no active clusters for the first time since the pandemic began.[77] On 31 December 2020, 2 new clusters were formed out of the 5 community cases reported that day, all of whom were linked to the marine sector.[78] Two additional clusters were formed on 17 and 19 January 2021; the first was from 2 community cases linked to a para-vet working with the Singapore Police Force's K-9 unit,[79] with the second from 2 community cases linked to a worker at Golden Bridge Foods Manufacturing.[80] Another cluster consisting of four community cases linked to an employee at BS Industrial & Construction Supply was formed on 20 January.[81]

After banning short term arrivals in March, imported cases fell dramatically. However, since the beginning of July, there was a steady trickle of imported cases as the government loosened arrival requirements, with the majority of cases arriving from India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. January 2021 saw a sharp spike in imported cases, of which foreign domestic workers formed the bulk due to the high demand for maids amidst the pandemic.[82]

The authorities took cautious measures as the economy began to reopen to more regular outside travellers in August. Travellers who did not quarantine in a dedicated facility would have to wear an electronic tag throughout the 14-day period.[83] Singapore also implemented a Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) with Malaysia, allowing limited travel between the two countries. Later in the month, arrivals from certain countries had their 14-day quarantine reduced to 7 days; those arriving from Brunei and New Zealand who were tested negative upon arrival would be allowed in without any quarantine.[84] On 30 September 2020, the Singapore government announced that the country will lift border restrictions for some visitors from Australia, excluding Victoria state, and Vietnam, beginning from 8 October 2020;[85] restrictions for Victoria state and mainland China were lifted on 6 November.[86] In October, Ong Ye Kung, Transport Minister, suggested that Singapore would be looking to open travel bubbles with various countries such as those with similar risk profiles, but also for those countries from higher risk locations.[87] One such travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong was to have started on 22 November, but had to be postponed to an unspecified time in 2021 due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong.[88]

In order to stop the spread of COVID-19, the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 and its Control Order Regulations 2020[89] was brought into force. These rules banned gatherings and led some to be charged in court,[90] fined or even jailed for offences related to these laws.[91][92] A number of people who were on work passes have had their passes revoked and have also been permanently banned from working in Singapore.[93]

The ongoing pandemic is likely to have a significant impact on the local economy. On 17 February, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) downgraded Singapore's forecast GDP growth to between -0.5% and 1.5%.[94] This is largely due to the fall in tourism and social distancing restrictions.[94] On 26 March, MTI said it believed that the economy would contract by between 1% and 4% in 2020. This was after the economy shrank some 2.2% in the first quarter of 2020 from the same quarter in 2019.[95] On 26 May, the Singapore economy contracted 0.7%YoY, which was better than the expected contraction of 2.2%. However, MTI said that it was revising down its expectation for the Singapore economy in 2020 to shrink by 4% to 7%.[96] Economists were behind the curve in downgrading their numbers. The IMF for example, predicted in October 2019 that growth in 2020 would be 1%, but as a result of COVID-19, had changed their expectation in October 2020 to a contraction of 6%.[97][98] Other institutions initially expected the economy to expand but had to revise their numbers.[99]

On 2 April, the rating's agency Moody's downgraded the Singapore banking sector from "stable" outlook to a "negative" outlook on the back of rising bad loans and deteriorating profitability as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[100] It was estimated by the economist Chua Hak Bin, the lockdown "circuit breaker" beginning on 7 April could impact the economy to the tune of S$10 billion.[101] With the lockdown imposed on foreign workers, there were concerns that there could be delays in construction work of up to six months.[102] Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat announced that some 3,800 companies had closed in April 2020, only slightly higher than the 3,700 reported on average for the same month in the past 5 years. Though he warned that this would likely rise in the coming months. Despite this only small increase in companies shutting down, the number of companies starting up had declined by about a third from the average April since 2015.[103]

On 6 April, it was announced in Parliament that Changi Airport Terminal 2 would be suspended from 1 May for 18 months due to the ongoing pandemic.[104] Terminal 4 would later be suspended on 16 May indefinitely as well, with the aim to restart operations when travel demand returns.[105] The suspension of Terminal 2 would also allow the ongoing expansion work which was announced in January 2020 to be completed up to a year ahead of schedule in 2023 instead of 2024.[106] The airlines which were operating from these two terminals were largely consolidated into the remaining Terminals 1 and 3, with some airlines remained suspended until further notice.[107]

In November, the MTI announced Singapore's economy contracted 5.8% in the third quarter from the same period in 2019. It also expected the economy to shrink contract by between 6% and 6.5% in 2020, though in 2021 it expected an expansion of between 4% and 6% next year.[108]

Data released by the Ministry of Manpower showed that total employment contracted by 57,000 in 2020, which was the biggest drop since SARS in 2003.[109] Foreign workers were vulnerable to being let go during the crisis as support measures such as the Jobs Support Scheme were primarily targeted as subsidising the wages of local staff not all employees. There were some 22,200 fewer foreign employees (excluding domestic workers) between December 2019 and March 2020.[110] Ministry of Manpower reported that unemployment in the first quarter of 2020 rose to 2.4 per cent from 2.3 per cent the quarter previously, the highest in a decade, while among Singaporeans it rose from 3.3 per cent to 3.5 per cent.[111]

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, various companies like Resorts World Sentosa would reduce a significant amount of its workforce.[112][113]

Local firms had to take aggressive action to deal with effects of the pandemic. For example, on 10 September 2020, Singapore Airlines announced that it would cut around 4,300 positions across its group.[114] On 15 September 2020, United Overseas Bank announced that it was limiting hiring.[115]

The overall inflation dropped to 0.3% in February 2020 on a year-by-year basis. Core inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, dropped to -0.1%, the first time this decade that core inflation turned negative. This was also due to supply chains being disrupted due to COVID-19.[116]

On 9 March, the Straits Times Index fell 6.03% owing to the impact of COVID-19, made worse by the oil price war.[117] The Index dropped again three days later by 3.8% after more measures are announced with the World Health Organization declaring a pandemic.[118]

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) brought forward its twice year meeting from some time in April to 30 March.[119] The MAS has since decided to ease the Singapore dollar's appreciation rate to zero percent, as well as adjust the policy band downwards, the first such move since the Global Financial Crisis. This makes it the first time the MAS had taken these two measures together.[120] Unusually, on 6 April, the central bank also announced that it would bring forward its disclosure of foreign exchange intervention to 9 April. It was previously scheduled to be published in June.[121] In September, Citi argued that a downward re-centring for the MAS SGD NEER in October 2020 could still take place.[122]

As one of the countries highly affected by the pandemic, tourism in Singapore has fallen, with the Singapore Tourism Board had a largest drop in visitor arrivals from the previous year.[123] Several countries have imposed travel restrictions on Singapore.[124] Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong encouraged Singaporeans to go on a local 'staycation' to mitigate the fall in demand for tourism, but this was not possible during the circuit breaker from 7 April 2020 to 1 June 2020.[125] Retail industry is also impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the recovery on the way to "Phase 3".[126]

Due to the 2019 Hong Kong protests, many conferences and exhibitions were transferred to Singapore.[127][128] However, as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, many events including concerts were postponed or cancelled. Several exhibitors (which eventually numbered to 70)[129] and South Korea's Black Eagles decided to pull out of the Singapore Airshow.[130] In addition, an aviation conference was cancelled.[131] Several days later, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon pulled out of the Airshow, while the United States Department of Defense reduced its delegation size.[132] The Global Grain Conference in Singapore was cancelled.[133] Mediacorp postponed its Star Awards ceremony to after the COVID-19 pandemic.[134] The Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit that was scheduled to take place between 5 and 7 June at the Shangri-La Hotel was cancelled.[135] The 2020 HSBC Women's World Championship, a women's golf tournament initially scheduled from 27 February to 1 March, was cancelled.[136][137] The 12th session of Pink Dot SG (which was scheduled to be held on 27 June at Hong Lim Park) was replaced by a livestreaming session.[138]

Singer Miriam Yeung postponed a concert that was initially scheduled on 8 February. It will now be held on 30 January 2021, amid the government's safe re-opening measures.[139] More concerts followed suit, including K-pop concerts by Taeyeon, NCT Group,[140] Got7 (initially scheduled on 22 February),[141] Stage Club play,[142] Welsh singer Novo Amor (postponed to July),[143] 98 Degrees (initially scheduled on 20 February),[144] and First Fleet (a Mandarin play initially from 14 to 23 February, rescheduled to March 2021).[145] K-pop band Winner cancelled its concert, which was scheduled to be held on 8 February. Several Huayi events in Esplanade were cancelled due to travel restrictions.[142]

On 12 June, it was announced that the 2020 Singapore Grand Prix, due to be held on 20 September, would be cancelled.[146] Organisers of the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown announced on 5 November that the event would be streamed online and on television by Mediacorp, and fireworks would be set off at heartland locations rather than at Marina Bay.[147]

A travel bubble was established between Hong Kong and Singapore to restart tourism without needing to quarantine at the other end, though anyone traveling between the two cities will have to undergo a compulsory COVID-19 test before they flew.[148] It was hoped that having a quarantine-free bubble would boost tourism and business between the two Asian hubs cities. There was reportedly strong demand for tickets both from Hong Kong and Singapore, with some flights sold out and prices higher than normal.[149][150] However, only 200 seats on each flight were available for booking due to social distancing. The travel bubble start date is yet to be determined.[151][152] This showed the complexities involved in opening up, even between countries which had coronavirus infections under control.[153]

The retail industry has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, together with food industry. Foot traffic at shopping malls were dropped,[154] with some shops choosing to shorten their opening hours or face massive closures like Esprit Holdings, Isetan Westgate, Liang Court, I12 Katong, H&M Tampines Mall, Topshop, Robinsons and Hotwind.[155] Tenants are pushing landlords for rental rebates, citing significant drops in revenue.[156]

Several malls and landlords including Jewel Changi Airport and CapitaLand have implemented rental rebates.[157][158] The National Environment Agency (NEA) has also implemented rent waivers and rebates for all stallholders in hawker centres operated by NEA or NEA-appointed operators.[159]

According to CapitaLand in February 2020, foot traffic at malls were almost back to normal,[154] before being reduced in late-March to early-April 2020 due to social distancing restrictions and circuit breaker measures.[160] Retail sales fell during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to June, citing circuit breaker as a reason. The April and May figure was the worst since records began in 1986. However, retail sales reinstated gradually in July, August and September but the process was interrupted by public places visited by cases in the community. Foot traffic will again resume back to normal fully once Singapore moves to Phase 3.[161]

In response to the government's lockdown measures, Suntec City announced that it would waive rent for all tenants for the month of April, May and June.[162]

In addition, the Great Singapore Sale was moved online, called e-GSS.[163]

Panic buying and price gouging of personal protective equipment (PPEs) such as masks began with the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Singapore on 23 January 2020.[51] By 24 January, both N95 and surgical masks had run out at retail outlets.[164] The Ministry of Health assured the public that there were sufficient N95 and surgical masks in the event of a surge in demand.[164] This has prompted local retailers including NTUC FairPrice, Watsons and Guardian to originally impose limits, but had a surge in demand.[165] Several companies and areas have voluntarily made masks compulsory, with masks made mandatory by the government on 14 April. In addition, mask wearing is expected to stay place until an effective treatment or vaccine is fully developed.[166][167]

The shortage of masks and other PPEs has caused many retailers to engage in profiteering by price gouging and scalping.[168] This included both local brick-and-mortar stores as well as retailers on ecommerce platforms.[168][169] The government has applauded platforms Carousell and Qoo10 for threatening to suspend profiteers.[169] The governmental price controller has also issued warnings to retailers who engage in price gouging and requested information from e-commerce platforms on potential profiteers.[168][170][171]

Panic buying and hoarding of essentials such as rice, instant noodles and toilet paper occurred with the raising of the DORSCON level from yellow to orange on 7 February 2020, with empty shelves at supermarkets within hours.[172][173][174] Local supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice imposed limits on the amount of essentials each consumer can buy, with these limits initially set for paper products, rice products, instant noodle packets and vegetables.[175] NTUC FairPrice and Dairy Farm Singapore announced that it would introduce specific hours for those members of the community who were more vulnerable such as Pioneer Generation members. Following the review, supermarkets are considered essential services, therefore there is no need to hoard items, it must be opened everyday.[176]

A second wave of panic buying and hoarding occurred on 17 March when Malaysia announced its lockdown from 18 March, sparked by fears of food shortages. The government has clarified that the flow of goods, cargo and food supplies between Singapore and Malaysia will continue, urging the public not to panic buy. They added that Singapore has diverse sources of essential goods and was not facing an immediate shortage of food or essentials.[177] NTUC FairPrice has expanded its list of items that are limited per consumer to include eggs, vegetables and poultry.[178] 10 days later, NTUC FairPrice expanded its list to include canned food, cooking oil and frozen meat, with reduced purchasing limits for paper products.[179]

In order to deal with the massive increase in online shopping orders, RedMart on 2 April said that it would prioritise daily essentials such as milk powder, flour, eggs and rice while limiting orders to 35 items and reducing its range of goods to focus on the essentials. It also said that it would stop taking orders until 4 April to implement additional measures.[180]

Ahead of tighter measures on 7 April, shoppers queued at shopping malls despite government requests for people to remain at home.[181]

Egg distributors were reporting in June that they now had an oversupply of eggs and were throwing away supplies or culling laying stock.[182]

Even when DORSCON was raised to Orange on 7 February, several religious events still took place. One of them was the Thaipusam procession, which took several precautions like temperature taking and the provision of hand sanitizers and masks to assure devotees.[183] The event ended up attracting 11,500 people, the highest turnout since 2013.[184] Another was the Lantern Festival event in Loyang, which attracted half the usual turnout to about 3,000 people.[185]

The Catholic Church of Singapore announced that it was suspending masses indefinitely from noon of 15 February.[186] They were set to resume on 14 March,[187] but continue to be indefinitely suspended in light of the World Health Organization declaring a pandemic.[188]

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore has asked Muslims to take precautions to maintain personal hygiene while the Singapore Buddhist Federation advised temples to cancel activities.[189] Some churches have opted to suspend services, live streaming them instead. Religious institutions have stepped up disinfection procedures.[189]

On 12 March, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore announced the closure of all mosques for five days from 13 March for disinfection, coming after two people were infected from a gathering in Malaysia. Prayers were cancelled on 13 March, with activities stopped until 27 March.[190] The closure of mosques is extended until further notice.[191]

Hindu Temples and Sikh Temples also recorded a drop in the attendance. Hindu temples in Singapore have stepped up precautionary measures such as checking temperature of the visitors. Some Hindu temples have put measures to provide live streaming of puja for devotees. Some Sikh Temples had to suspend their langar services. However, five private temple were providing langar on a smaller scale. Most processions were also cancelled.[192]

Wedding ceremonies were also adversely affected by COVID-19. During the circuit-breaker period, all wedding ceremonies were suspended. This only resumed in phase 1 in a very controlled manner with weddings only able to be done in person at the Registry of Marriages, or at home with no more than 10 persons present. In phase 2, this number was increased to 50 persons.

Taxi and private hire vehicles were hit by the impact of COVID-19. A S$77 million package was provided to help them tide through this period, co-funded by the Government, taxi and private-hire companies. In addition, a S$2.7 million fund was set up by the Government and National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) for drivers who are not eligible.[193] In view of the worsening coronavirus impact, the package will be enhanced from May 2020, extending until September 2020. This will cost an additional $95 million.[194] On 6 April, directors of the ComfortDelGro Group (ComfortDelGro, SBS Transit and VICOM) announced its board of directors would take a voluntary 20 per cent cut in directors' fees until the end of 2020.[195]

Various banks have suggested that Singapore Airlines will have a loss in FY21, with OCBC credit analysts Ezien Hoo and Wong Hong Wei arguing that the airline will have to tap the markets for more funds and possibly even need state support.[196]

Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Scoot have announced plans to slash their capacity. Singapore Airlines slashed nearly all of the capacity until August. The news resulted in STI crashing down by 164.63 (6.83%). Scoot will ground 47 out of the 49 planes they have in their fleet.[197] It was reported on 27 March 2020, SIA received a rescue package of S$19 billion to get over the difficult period.[198] Its major shareholder Temasek Holdings will underwrite the package which contains S$5.3 billion equity and S$9.7 billion convertible note.[198] Singapore's biggest bank DBS will also lend it S$4 billion to help it get over the crisis and position itself for expansion.[198] With the significant reduction in flights, Singapore Airlines agreed to provide some 300 staff to help with possible manpower shortages at hospitals in Singapore and provided some staff to deal with transport ambassadors.[199] It was announced that the airline would consolidate all their Changi Airport operations from 1 May 2020 to Terminal 3.[200] On 14 May 2020, Singapore Airlines announced a full year loss for Financial Year 2019/2020 of S$212 million, this was the first loss in its 48 years of operation.[201][202] On 1 September 2020, Singapore Airlines have announced to reinstate several destinations that have opened up travel such as Bandar Seri Begawan, Auckland, Christchurch, Hanoi, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. For airlines, regulations for social distancing are not applicable to save costs. Mask wearing continues to be mandatory and airlines will upgrade their apps to include contact tracing. Overnight flights will also be re-introduced which allows even quieter rides.[203] On 25 June Jetstar Asia Airways announced that it was cutting up to 180 people, almost a quarter of the workforce in Singapore. At the same time they would allow the retirement of five of their A320 fleet, bringing the total down to 13.[204]

The Land Transport Authority announced that all certificate of entitlement (COE) bidding for the month of April would be suspended.[205]

Transport services were gradually reduced in stages. Last train timings were brought forward to early, and transport frequencies were remained to allow safe distancing. Measures also involve imposition of queuing at station exit points. Cross-border bus services 160 and 170 were amended to serve only local sectors of its route, while Cross-border services 170X and 950 were suspended in lieu of Malaysia's Movement Control Order.[206] All City Direct, Chinatown Direct, NightRider, NiteOwl and Express bus services were temporarily suspended in tranches from 8 April 2020 until 1 June 2020, with the exception of Express 89e which was reinstated on 24 April 2020 to better serve essential workers at the Changi Airfreight Centre, while Chinatown Direct, NightRider, NiteOwl bus services as well as bus services 188R, 401, 926 and 963R continue to be suspended until further notice owing to the lack of recreational demand. The bus frequency and train frequency will see more improvements from 20 April 2020.[207][208]

The quarantine and testing of all foreign workers in dormitories has caused delays in the construction of various MRT projects, including the delay of the Thomson–East Coast line's Stage 2 opening to early 2021. The LTA has been yet to fully assess the length of delays on the other stages of the line and of other MRT projects.[209]

Several parties have engaged in scams related to the pandemic. For instance, scammers have pretended to be MOH officials engaging in contact tracing.[210] The MOH and police clarified that no financial details or transfer of money will be requested during contact tracing.[211] The police have also arrested scammers on e-commerce platform Carousell.[212] On 4 April, SPF announced that they had arrested a man for suspected money-laundering offences in relation to a COVID-19 linked scam which saw an overseas pharmaceutical company defrauded to the tune of €6.636 million (S$10.3 million) over the purchase of surgical masks and hand sanitisers.[213] The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and SPF were investigating possible abuses of the COVID-19 Temporary Relief Fund (TRF), which is supposed to provide financial assistance to those eligible.[214] There were cases of scammers impersonating the Chinese police force asking for many personal details. A total of 394 COVID-19-related scams occurred between January and April, with losses totalling S$1.4 million.[215] There have also been false rumours of National Environment Agency and police officers actively checking residential units to ensure that people were complying with circuit breaker rules.[216]

On 16 March, the Malaysian government announced a movement control order (MCO) that took effect on 18 March, preventing Malaysians from leaving the country.[217] With approximately 300,000 Malaysians, or almost a tenth of Singapore's labour force working in Singapore, the MCO would have been expected to significantly affect Singapore's economy, including sectors providing essential services.[218]

The MCO caused long queues at immigration checkpoints as Malaysian workers in Singapore scrambled to collect their belongings and return to Singapore, while Singaporeans returned home.[219] Various firms across Singapore rushed to find temporary accommodation for their workers before the MCO took effect.[220] The Singapore government advised workers to try to stay with relatives, friends, and colleagues, and seek housing in hotels, dormitories and rental flats if this was not possible.[221] The government also provided $50 for each worker per day, up to 14 days to support employers finding accommodation.[222] As of 17 March, the government announced that 10,000 Malaysian workers had been matched with temporary housing.[222] Some workers could not immediately find accommodations and resorted to sleeping in public areas.[223] In response, Ministry of Social and Family Development repurposed Jurong East Sports Hall into a temporary relief area for remaining Malaysian workers who were unable to find temporary accommodations immediately after the MCO took effect, while the Ministry of Manpower stepped up patrols to look out for such stranded workers.[224] A number of residents also stepped up to offer their spare rooms to accommodate Malaysian workers at little to no cost.[225]

The MCO resulted in suspension of all bus services between Johor Bahru and Singapore.[206] While the KTMB Shuttle Tebrau train service continues to operate between the two checkpoints, only citizens returning to their respective countries are allowed to board.[226] The lockdown also sparked fears of food shortages, triggering a second wave of panic buying and hoarding of essential items. On 26 April, Malaysia announced that Malaysians wanting to return to Malaysia will need to obtain permits from the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore. However, only 400 of such permits will be issued daily.[227]

Singapore began to restrict travellers from entering from 29 January in a progressive manner as a response to localised outbreaks. Travelers from Hubei were banned from entering Singapore on 29 January with all forms of visas held by Hubei residents being suspended immediately on the same day.[228] Any traveller who had travelled to mainland China 14 days prior to 1 February was banned too, with China passport holders allowed entry on the condition they prove they did not visit China recently. At the same time, on 1 February, all forms of visas for China travellers were suspended immediately.[229] When there was a large increase in the number of cases in Cheongdo and Daegu in South Korea, visitors arriving from these two areas were restricted as well from 26 February.[230] Soon, visitors arriving from other territories or countries followed in March, South Korea in general, Iran, Italy, France, Spain, and Germany were banned.[231][232] Port calls for all cruise vessels were stopped from 13 March as well.[233][234]

One of the earliest recorded travel advisory on travelling to or from Singapore issued by other countries was by United Kingdom on 24 January 2020, encouraging its subjects to self-isolate and quarantine.[235] Other countries such as Britain, Indonesia, Indonesia soon began to issue their own travel advisories, with language generally advising their citizens to avoid unnecessary or non-essential travel to Singapore. By 20 March 2020, there were at least 14 countries with travel advisories against Singapore, either specifically or as part of a general travel restriction on their citizens.[235] As the number countries with travel advisories rapidly expanded, the travel restrictions have been broadly categorised into:[236]

1. Deny entry - where countries would deny entry to travellers who have been in or transiting through Singapore in the last 14 days;
2. Allow entry, subjected to self-isolation/quarantine - where countries would allow entry, but subject travellers to either 14-day self-isolation or quarantine regime;
3. Allow entry upon medical screening clearance - where countries would allow unrestricted entry after clearing required medical screenings such as temperature checks and/or swab tests.

From 17 March, Singapore required all visitors who had travelled 14 days prior to ASEAN countries, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom to be served with a 14-day Stay Home Notice, with ASEAN travellers required to seek approval before entering Singapore. However, this requirement was waived for Singapore's sea and land crossings with Malaysia as it was deemed too disruptive to the 200,000 people who utilise the crossings on a daily basis.[237][238] This exemption was short-lived as the Malaysian government would soon implement a movement control order that would take effect from 18 March, preventing Malaysians from leaving and most foreigners from entering the country.[217] Singapore authorities and businesses quickly made arrangements to secure alternate living accommodations in Singapore for workers living in Malaysia.[239][240][241] Both Singapore and Malaysia authorities quickly worked to ensure that the essential goods could still cross the two land checkpoints,[242] with further fine-tuning of transportation arrangement being subsequently conducted as there were still confusion by some of the supplying companies in Malaysia.[243][244]

Singapore banned all short-term visitors arriving or transiting through Singapore from 23 March onwards, with only people in essential services like healthcare and transport allowed entry during this time.[245]

Due to the reduced number of flights, Singapore Changi Airport suspended operations at Terminals 2 and 4 in April and May 2020 respectively. The suspension of Terminal 2 would also bring forward the renovation plans that the airport has for it, while Terminal 4 would remain suspended indefinitely until the demand for flights picks up and airlines seek to relaunch flights.[246][105] Malaysia would also shorten the operating hours of Sultan Iskandar Building at the Johor Causeway to 12 hours daily from 24 April, effectively limiting the Causeway's operating hours.[247] The Second Link crossing would remain open round the clock.[247]

On 28 June, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Muhyiddin Yassin agreed that their governments will work together to establish a Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) allowing residents from both nations who hold long-term immigration passes for business and work purposes in the other country to periodically return to their home countries for short-term home leave.[248]

On 14 July, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and his Malaysian counterpart Hishammuddin Hussein announced that cross-border travel and traffic between the two countries would resume on 10 August 2020 under two schemes: the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and the Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA). The RGL scheme will allow essential business and official travel between the two countries while the PCA scheme will allow Singaporean and Malaysian residents who hold long-term immigration business and work passes to enter for work purposes.[249][250]

Cruises were restarted in November but did not have any other port of call other than Singapore. In early December, an 83-year-old man tested positive on board and the ship had to return to Singapore a day early. Subsequent retests of the sample and additional samples proved the original test to be a false positive.[251]

On 30 January 2021, the Singaporean Government suspended "travel bubble" arrangements with Malaysia, Germany and South Korea in response to a spike in cases globally and the emergence of new variants.[252]

As the pandemic spread throughout the world, the Singapore government had organised several repatriation efforts to bring Singaporeans back from various overseas locations. Beginning with Wuhan, Hubei where the virus was first detected, a number of Singaporeans were trapped in Wuhan as the Chinese authorities had locked down the entire Hubei province, thus suspending air links between the city and Singapore.[253] Liaising with counterparts in the Chinese government and its embassy in Beijing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore (MFA) managed to bring back 266 Singaporeans and family members on two separate Scoot flights on 30 January and 9 February.[254] MFA and other governmental agencies subsequently brought back at least 1,000[lower-alpha 1] Singaporeans, permanent residents, and family members stranded at other locations where there were similar lockdowns and suspension of flights: Cambodia,[255] Egypt,[256] Fiji,[257] India,[258] Iran,[259] Nepal,[260] Saudi Arabia,[261] Slovenia,[262] and the UK.[263][264] Most of the evacuees were brought back on direct flights,[255][256][258][261][263] whilst some in Fiji, Iran, Nepal, and Slovenia saw some assistance from other countries.[257][259][260][262] All evacuees had to serve a 14-day Stay Home Notice or be quarantined[265] at designated locations, such as hotels with cost borne by the government,[266][267][268] government quarantine faculties, or at home.

With flights to Wuhan suspended due to the Hubei lockdown, Scoot had offered two one-way flights back to Wuhan for tourists stuck in Singapore.[269] As the travel restrictions began to grow and accumulated into an ongoing ban on short-term visitors arriving or transiting through Singapore started from 23 March,[245] Singapore has allowed visitors to transit through Singapore if they are being repatriated by various governments.[270] India had repatriated some of its citizens from Singapore in May 2020 on two separate flights.[271][272] In the same flight which Singapore Airlines brought back Singaporeans from Cambodia on 12 April, it also carried Australians heading back to Australia with Singapore being a transit point.[255] It was reported that Singapore and Bangladesh were in discussions to repatriate their respective citizens if necessary.[273]

Both the Singapore government and private sector sent support packages to Indonesia, including test kits and personal protective equipment.[274][275] The Singapore government sent swabs and other supplies to Malaysia in order to help with sample collection and testing.[276] Temasek Foundation donated 30,000 test kits to India and this was affirmed and thanked by High Commissioner of India to Singapore, Jawed Ashraf.[277] Indian low-cost airline SpiceJet operated flights carrying the test kits and other medical equipment from Singapore to both Bangalore and Chennai.[278][279]

In December 2020, Singapore pledged US$5 million towards COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX), a WHO-led global initiative aimed at securing COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries.[280] Together with Switzerland, Singapore co-chairs “Friends of the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility”, which comprises the European Union and the following 14 nations: Australia, Canada, Iceland, Israel, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Norway, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.[281]

It was announced on 1 February that the Government will provide help for the transport and tourism sectors as part of the 2020 Budget, being the worst-hit industries by the impact of COVID-19.[286][287] In the 2020 Budget delivered on 18 February, the Government has set aside S$6.4 billion in support funds,[288] which are a S$1.6 billion Care and Support Package for household expenses,[289] a S$4 billion Stabilisation and Support Package for businesses and workers[290] and an additional S$800 million for efforts including the healthcare sector. In addition, the Goods and Services Tax will not be raised by 9% in 2021 owing to the economic impact, with a S$6 billion Assurance Package should it be raised by 2025.[291]

Less than a month after the first budget support package was introduced, it was announced that the government was working a second stimulus package to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the economy.[292] The package was delivered in a Ministerial Statement by DPM Heng Swee Keat on 26 March, known as the Resilience Budget.[293] COVID-19 has hit the economy so hard that President Halimah had given her 'in-principle support' to draw on past reserves for this second package, which will amount to S$17 billion.[294] In addition to S$6.4 billion announced in the first package, the government is prepared to spend a further S$48.4 billion to support businesses, workers and families, amounting to around 11% of GDP.[295]

Among the measures include increasing government co-funding of 25% of wages for all local workers, with those in food services getting 50% support and those in the tourism and aviation sector getting up to 75% support. Self-employed workers would receive S$1,000 per month. These measures would last for nine months.[296][297]

A $350 million aviation support package was introduced to fund the measures such as rebates on waiving off parking charges.[298]

In spite of this large spending package, several private sector economists were still expecting the economy to contract in 2020.[299]

It was announced on 5 April that Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat would propose a third round of support measures through a "Solidarity Budget" when Parliament returned on 6 April.[300] A total of S$5.1 billion was allocated for the package, with S$4 billion to be drawn from past reserves.[301] Due to the extended Circuit Breaker announced on 21 April, support measures from the "Solidarity Budget" were extended to May, costing another S$3.8 billion.[302]

On 10 May, the Ministry of Finance announced that 32 companies had returned Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) payouts worth S$35 million and had said they would not receive future payments related to JSS. Other companies that had previously received JSS monies, had said that while they retain what they had already received, they would also not receive further payments.[303]

On 19 May, it was announced that Finance Minister Heng would propose a fourth round of support measures at a statement delivered to Parliament on 26 May at 3.30pm.[304] On 25 May, President Halimah gave her in-principle approval for the Government to draw on the reserves for the package, the second time it was done for this crisis. The budget has since been named the "Fortitude Budget".[305] It was announced that the government would draw an additional S$32 billion from past reserves, bringing the total used to S$52 billion. In addition, another S$13 billion will be set aside for contingencies due to the pandemic.[306] Extending and enhancing the JSS, to include higher tiers of wage subsidies and lasting until August, would cost around S$2.9 billion, bringing the total cost to S$23.5 billion.[307] To thank Singaporeans for working from home during the "circuit breaker", the government introduced a one off Solidarity Utilities Credit of S$100 for all households.[308] Food and beverage (F&B) and retail companies would receive up to S$10,000 as part of efforts to digitally transform their businesses, as they are likely to be seriously affected by safe distancing rules after the circuit breaker is lifted.[309] S$2 billion was committed to SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package was announced to create close some 100,000 opportunities for workers affected by the COVID-19 economic slowdown; involving around 40,000 jobs, 25,000 traineeships and 30,000 skills training opportunities. The public sector will create more jobs, with the majority coming from the early childhood and healthcare sectors.[310]

After announcing more draw downs of the reserves, Minister Heng warned that Singapore's financial position would be weaker going forward, but the government would do try to mitigate the negative effects.[311]

In order to help financial institutions and FinTech companies tide over the virus, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released a $125 million package to help financial institutions and FinTech companies to strengthen long-term capabilities.[312]

On 14 April, the Infocomm Media Development Authority announced that they will launch Public Service Content worth S$8 million and fund 90% of the course fees for Self-Employed Persons under Talent Assistance (T-Assist) Programme. In order to reduce operating costs, the Film Exhibition and Distribution Licence Fees will be waived from 17 April.[313]

Every Singaporean who would be aged 18 and above in 2020 would receive S$100 worth of SingapoRediscovers vouchers, which can be used for a variety activities to support the local tourism industry. They would be usable between December 2020 and June 2021 and would be paid via SingPass.[314] Additionally, Trip.com has a "Pay It Forward" campaign throughout this usable period, where people can use their vouchers to pay for tourism products for various beneficiary groups.[315] When the vouchers were launched, there were some complaints from Singaporeans about the complex way the vouchers were to be redeemed.[316]

It was reported in February that healthcare workers faced mistreatment from the public. President Halimah Yacob urged Singaporeans to appreciate the work of healthcare workers.[321] Grab announced that they will be launching GrabCare to transport healthcare workers to and from their work places.[322]

On 12 April, CNA reported that some staff members of Lee Ah Mooi, a nursing home, were evicted by landlords.[323] However, the authorities had also mentioned that landlords who evict tenants on Leave of Absence or Stay-Home Notices would be penalised.[323]

On 17 February, a leaked recording of a closed-door dialogue session on 10 February of Chan Chun Sing with business people from the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) went viral in Singapore. In response, SCCCI said that the leak is "deeply disappointing" and a "betrayal of trust", adding that it was investigating the source of the leak.[324]

The pandemic brought the living conditions at foreign worker dormitories to media attention. Dormitories were reported to be unsanitary and crowded, making preventive measures like social distancing difficult.[325] Retired diplomat Tommy Koh criticised the living conditions, calling it "third world" and "a time bomb waiting to explode".[326] Amnesty International called the situation a "recipe for disaster".[327] Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo vowed to improve the living conditions of foreign workers after the quarantine was handled.[328]

On 9 April, MOM said in a press release that it will improve quality of meals of foreign workers during quarantine and formed a task force to improve the living conditions of foreign workers.[329] As of 25 April 25 dormitories have been gazetted as isolation areas.[330] Some healthy workers are also progressively being moved to numerous empty premises such as SAF camps, HDB blocks, floating hotels and Changi Exhibition Centre.[331][332] On 16 April, Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo said that there will be a "three-pronged strategy"; containing the spread, imposing lockdowns and separating workers in essential services.[333]

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong has said that the living standards in dormitories have steadily improved over the years, and suggested that the issue was the dormitories being designed for communal living, where migrant workers ate, lived, and cooked together, and that the initial precautions and safeguards put in place to reduce some of the non-essential activities were not sufficient.[334] The government has promised to build new dormitories that are designed with public health in mind and provide more amenities, while some workers will be temporarily moved to makeshift dormitories before the new dormitories are ready.[335]

It is noted that a large majority of COVID-19 cases in Singapore are foreign workers. On 20 April, Singapore reported a peak of 1,426 new cases, of which only 16 were not migrant workers but citizens or permanent residents. Foreign workers had accounted for three fourths of the total infections in Singapore by then.[319]

Towards the end of July 2020, a spate of attempted and successful suicides among the foreign workers in dormitories raised concerns about the mental well-being of the workers on lockdown.[336][337] Authorities are monitoring the situation and are working with partners and NGOs to enhance their mental health support programmes.[338][339]

Before the circuit breaker was implemented, commuters and a few NMPs had urged authorities to enforce social distancing measures on public transport; due to the high demand of commuters, however, this was not implemented.[340][341] Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said that when these measures are implemented, it could mean restricting the number of people going to work or school.[341][342] Social distancing was implemented during the start of the circuit breaker, with stickers pasted on seats and auxiliary officers and transport ambassadors enforcing the rules throughout this period.[343]

Since June, public transport has gradually resumed pre-circuit breaker operations. Regulations for social distancing are no longer applicable by law except for fixed public transport area queues such as MRT stations and bus interchanges. Social distancing stickers are removed on bus and train seats, allowing all passengers including seniors to sit. However, commuters should still social distance where possible if there is no seats.[344] Mask wearing continues to be mandatory in public transport and all public places in Singapore.[345]

On 12 April, Member of Parliament (MP) Chia Shi-Lu made a Facebook post detailing his trip to Alexandra Village Hawker Centre to distribute masks. This drew criticism for apparently violating the circuit breaker measures to campaign.[346] Chia defended himself, stating that he was there to educate the public to wear masks.[347] The Online Citizen counted at least 18 MPs from the ruling party, the People's Action Party, that had conducted ground engagement activities.[348] The PAP announced that it was suspending all ground engagement activities on 13 April.[349]

On 26 April, HDB, URA and MND released a joint statement that home-based businesses would have to suspend operations as part of the circuit breaker measures.[350] This generated opposition among home-based food business operators, particularly those dependent on such businesses for income and those seeking to capitalise on increased demand during Ramadan.[351][352] The measure was subsequently adjusted to these businesses to resume operations on 12 May.[353]

On 4 January 2021, Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Koh announced in Parliament that Bluetooth proximity data from the TraceTogether app and token could be used by the police in criminal investigations, as per the Criminal Procedure Code.[354] This resulted in controversy, as the website had previously stated that the data would strictly be used for contact tracing; concerns were aired about the transparency of the government and how the personal data would be used, as well as possible infringement on the privacy of citizens. Some users even switched off their apps or left their tokens at home in protest.[355] In response, Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan clarified that the police could only obtain TraceTogether data through a person involved in the investigation, adding that there were plans to introduce legislation that would restrict police use of TraceTogether data to serious offenses such as terrorism or murder.[356] The COVID-19 (Temporary Measures Amendment) Bill was passed on 2 February.[357]