Covid may take 4-5 yrs to end: S’pore minister

Singapore, Jan. 26: It may take four to five years for the Covid-19 pandemic to end and the world to look to a post-Covid normal, a senior Singaporean minister has warned. Speaking at the Singapore Perspectives 2021 conference hosted by Singapore's Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) on Monday, Singapore's Education Minister Lawrence Wong, who cochairs the Covid-19 multiministry task force, said there are still many uncertainties to contend with in the next few years, while sharing his hopes about how the future can be "reset" once the pandemic is over, the Channel News

Asia reported.

"At some point of time the pandemic will pass, but it may take four to five years before we finally see the end of the pandemic and the start of a postCovid normal. What will this new post-Covid world look like? No one can tell," Wong said. He said there was still a great uncertainty about how the coronavirus will shape society in the coming years.

He said adhering to safe management measures like mask-wearing and avoiding crowds will continue for this year and "maybe a good part of next year". "Beyond that, the availability of Covid19 vaccinations will progressively restart global travel, but getting the world vaccinated won't be quick or easy," he said during the conference.

The Government has planned for everyone in Singapore to be vaccinated by the third quarter of this year, but Wong conceded that there could still be "bumps along the way". He noted that the current vaccines may not be so effective against new mutant strains of the virus, and will have to be modified to counter them.