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Covid-19 is a new virus. It has spread across the world very quickly. It has killed tens of thousands of people in some countries.
We have avoided the worst of it in Singapore.
This is because we had built up our healthcare capacity. Everyone who got Covid-19 and needed medical care received it, unlike many other countries. We also protected our senior citizens, including in nursing homes. And we took decisive steps to deal with the outbreak in the foreign worker dorms.
As a result, despite our aging population, the Covid-19 death rate is very low in Singapore.
As of May 2020, for every million residents, we have had less than four deaths from Covid-19. As comparison, Germany has over 97 deaths per million, the U.S. over 286, Sweden over 383 and the U.K. over 530. Their Covid-19 death rates range from nearly 25 times ours, to over 135 times ours.
Singapore has started to carefully open up. We want to protect our people, while getting the economy and daily lives back to a new normal, until a vaccine is found. We will increase Covid-19 testing and contact tracing, and support scientists looking for a vaccine. We will also continue to build up our healthcare system.
COVID-19 is still continuing to spread around the world. To meet the challenge, we will need a government that has a track record. A track record of being effective and honest. A government which cares for you.