Hello.
It’s the day we thought would never arrive.
After three years of COVID-19 restrictions, Singapore is adjusting its disease alert level to the lowest since the pandemic started. From Monday, we will no longer have to wear masks on the bus or train. We can also delete the TraceTogether app and say goodbye to our tokens.
It is only through the efforts of every one of us that Singapore can enter a new post-COVID-19 norm, says NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health’s Alex Cook.
One word of caution though, you will now have to pay for your own COVID-19 tests and treatment if you fall ill. The World Health Organization has also decided that the global threat of COVID-19 is not over, keeping it as a public health emergency of international concern. Duke-NUS Medical School’s Vincent Pang explains what this means for the world.
Affordable housing was also on the minds of many this week, with two motions on public housing policies debated over two days in Parliament. What is considered affordable and is it more important than accessibility? NUS’ Sing Tien Foo looks at both sides of the issue.
Elsewhere, more than 20,000 people have died and tens of thousands more injured after back-to-back earthquakes struck Türkiye and Syria this week. Space agencies have joined forces to provide free satellite imagery, while rescue teams from around the world are racing against time to reach those still buried under collapsed buildings.
Here is our selection of commentaries this week.
Alison Jenner
Senior Editor, Commentary
.jpg?itok=fHkrjj4c "Goodbye COVID-19 rules in Singapore, at long last 35")
