Quora Answer: Why Did Singapore Announce a Lockdown Up to 01st June 2020?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Why did Singapore suddenly announce a lockdown up to 01st June?  What went wrong in Singapore?”

Nothing went wrong.  The assumption here is that this circuit breaker, as the government calls it, is a policy failure.  It is a reaction to a developing situation, and that is how governments are supposed to work.  The lockdown has succeeded in mitigating the spread of the infection among the wider populace.  That makes it a policy success.  That it was done quickly, and a multi-ministerial task force delegated to address the testing, welfare, healthcare, and logistics of thousands of workers is a testament to efficiency.

There was a policy blindspot pertaining to the worker dormitories, and they proved to be excellent incubators due to the number of people in close proximity.  That is not a policy failure.  That is a management failure, and it will most certainly be addressed by policy.

Firstly, it highlights Singapore’s excessive reliance on cheap foreign labour.  This is something businesses in Singapore need to address, in partnership with the government.  We need to consider more automation, and wean sectors of our economy off their narcotic of cheap labour.  This means relooking the fundamental structure of businesses in these sectors.

Secondly, it highlights that the way dormitories are run in Singapore need more scrutiny.  Too many people are in the rooms,  no matter how clean they are.  The facilities are not adequate.  Considering the wealth of Singapore, this is not adequate.

The large number of infections reported should be understood in the context of the number of tests done.  Other countries in Southeast Asia have smaller numbers of official cases, but that is only because they do not have the resources or the system to test such numbers.  Relative to the population, and number of infections, the death rate is miniscule.