The first four months of 2020 have flashed by, and we are almost in May! Cold winter has given way to sunny spring and the beautiful flowers are blooming again. I still remember attending several traditional New Year gatherings in early 2020 in Seoul and wishing everyone a Great Year of the White Metal Rat. Unfortunately, the Year of the Rat did not have an auspicious start.
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc globally since the start of the year, with few countries spared from its devastation. Now over 200 countries and regions, including the Republic of Korea and Singapore, have been affected by the pandemic. To date, the world has over 2.6 million confirmed cases and over 180,000 deaths. The numbers are still rising. The economic, social and indeed human costs inflicted by COVID-19 are probably the most serious since World War II. It does not appear that we are reaching the tail-end of this massive pandemic.
South Korea has done well over the last three months to bring the outbreak under control through a combination of swift action; widespread testing, contact tracing and rigorous treatment; as well as public-private cooperation and the raising of civic awareness. A sense of normalcy is returning to the country, although the Korean government continues to warn the public against complacency and is keeping a close watch for signs of a secondary wave of infections. Social distancing measures have been eased slightly but will largely still be in effect till May 5.
In Singapore, the government has implemented an elevated set of safe distancing measures as a circuit breaker to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in the community. Singapore has moved toward full home-based learning for our schools and closed most workplace premises, except for those providing essential services and in selected economic sectors that are critical for local and global supply chains. A large majority of the population is now working from home. These circuit breaker measures started on April 7, and there are signs that the circuit breaker is starting to stabilize the situation.
While the overall number of confirmed cases in Singapore has continued to rise, especially among the migrant worker population residing in dormitories, these numbers have been expected to grow as our authorities are actively conducting testing. We appreciate our migrant workers’ valuable contributions towards Singapore’s development.
Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, it is important that we do not shut our doors and turn inwards. The outbreak has made a huge impact on the global economy. All countries need to reaffirm their collective commitment towards ensuring the continued flow of goods, services and essential personnel, as well as keeping global supply chains connected. We must cooperate with each other and coordinate measures to minimize disruption and support economic recovery to save lives and livelihoods.
Singapore will work closely with Korea to address the economic and social impact brought about by COVID-19. There are learning points and best practices from handling the outbreak that we can exchange views on. President Moon could not have put it more clearly in his Twitter reply to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s message over the weekend -- that based on our tightened bilateral ties, we will defeat the virus in solidarity.
Singapore and Korea enjoy longstanding ties and we will be marking the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year. The strong foundation of our bilateral relationship has been built by successive generations of leaders on both sides. Korea’s remarkable growth and development, the strength of its innovation and technology, as well as the global allure of Hallyu have all contributed to the success story that we are familiar with today. On the regional front, closer cooperation is also critical and the recent Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19 has given us a good basis to start.
My family and I arrived in Seoul last summer to embark on this new chapter of our lives, with me taking up post as the new Singapore ambassador to Korea. It has been an exciting and eventful ride thus far. At the turn of the year, almost no one, including my family, expected that COVID-19 would rear its head and pose such a big challenge to almost every government in the world. We will need some time to get over this pandemic, but we should not despair. As we face this headwind, we should persevere and move forward together. It is my hope that the Year of the White Metal Rat will end better than it began!
By Eric TeoEric Teo is Singapore’s Ambassador to South Korea. – Ed.