Singapore may take years to recover from Covid-19: Deputy PM tells Parliament

New Delhi: Singapore was one of the nations to have contained Covid-19 spread initially mainly because of scale of testing but despite that it has suffered greatly on economic front.

Singapore may take years to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat told the Parliament.

Singapore on Saturday reported 344 new coronavirus cases, pushing the total number of infections to 37,527.

Speaking in parliament during a debate on the budget on Friday, the deputy prime minister said the road to recovery will be long as Singapore deals with persistent economic impact on workers, jobs, and business, the Channel News Asia reported.

“Beyond economic costs, there will be immense human and social costs, he said.

To help businesses and residents tide over the COVID-19 economic downturn, parliament on Friday passed the S$ 33 billion Fortitude Budget, the fourth tranche of relief measures this year.

Singapore PM, Dy PM to brief nation on post-coronavirus future

Singapore PM, Deputy PM Heng Swee Keat and four other ministers will deliver a series of national broadcasts, on what a post-coronavirus future looks like and their plans to see the country through the challenges.

Singapore PM is slated to speak on Sunday on “overcoming the crisis of a generation”, The Straits Times quoted the PMO as saying.