Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced that he is ready to surrender as the economy cost of the virus outbreak is hitting Singapore too badly.
Citing economic pressure, the millionaire minister said he will give up borders control if there are too many countries infected with the Wuhan virus, by lowering the DORSCON level back to yellow. This allows visitors from infected regions like China to enter Singapore:
“It’s not possible for us to isolate Singapore from the rest of the world. It’s not just the economies part — human-to-human interaction, country-to-country interaction (make it) not possible. So, we may have to then readjust our posture and decide how we want to go…we can put in place travel restrictions for China, where the source is. We can do for another country, second country or third country, but can we afford to shut ourselves out from the world?”
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that if the virus cannot be controlled, Singaporeans will have to “live with it”:
“If there is widespread transmission around the world,that might well be the scenario where the virus becomes embedded in the human population. And we have to learn how to live with it, take the necessary precautions.”
The PAP minister’s move will jeopardise containment effort of other countries, and likely to cause all nations worldwide to ban Singapore. China has locked down all cities in the Hubei province, while South Korea and Italy had also locked down cities where the virus had gone out of control.