Measures to Prevent World Economic Forum’s Special Annual Meeting In Singapore from Becoming Super Spreader Event

The following question stood in the name of Ms He Ting Ru –

To ask the Minister for Health in order to prevent the World Economic Forum’s Special Annual Meeting in Singapore from becoming a super spreader event (a) whether attendees will be subject to Stay-Home Notices and quarantine rules; (b) what other concrete safety measures will be imposed to minimise COVID-19 spread; and (c) whether all attendees will be required to use TraceTogether technology in order to be allowed into Singapore to attend the event.

Mr Speaker, MOH is working with various Government agencies and the World Economic Forum to put in place the necessary public health and safe management measures to ensure that the WEF Special Annual Meeting in Singapore can be conducted safely.

To actively detect any cases of COVID-19, we will implement rigorous testing arrangements for local and foreign event attendees, in lieu of them serving Stay-Home Notices. We will also implement safe management measures such as mask-wearing, safe distancing and mandating the use of TraceTogether technology to minimise the risk of transmission and to facilitate the identification of close contacts for isolation.

In addition, a physical segregation of event attendees from the local community will reduce the risk of infections spreading from event attendees to the local community at large, and vice versa.

Over the next few months leading up to the Special Annual Meeting, MOH will continue to assess the COVID-19 situation locally and globally, and adjust the public health measures for the event as necessary. We will work with the Forum to clearly communicate these measures to attendees so that the event can proceed safely.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for his response. I am just wondering if I could have two supplementary questions. If, in spite of our best efforts, the event turns out to be a super spreader event, I am wondering if there is a contingency plan. And given this contingency plan, how the public and providers would be prepped to deal with the events as they unfold.

I thank the Member for the question. If there is indeed a case of COVID-19 at the WEF Special Annual Meeting, the prevailing measures that we have for a COVID-19 case at any of the events that we are organising, will be in place. All the various measures as well as the regulations around contact tracing, isolation and subsequent follow-up will be followed. The protocols are being put in place and are being operationalised already, because we are already hosting and organising events. This will be at a larger scale and it will involve a wider group of delegates and attendees but the fundamentals of our approach will be the same.