“What differentiates us from many other countries is the trust that we have among our people. Trusting one another, depending on one another to look after each other,” said Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong.
He highlighted the trust between the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the healthcare system, between patients and healthcare providers, and between workers and employees.
“We all work together, between the Government and the private sector and the people. I think that trust makes a big difference in how we arrived here today.
“I also want to take this opportunity to once again thank Singaporeans for their support for whatever we decided to do. And their support has made a big difference in the outcome.”
Mr Gan was Health Minister when the task force was formed in January 2020 with then National Development Minister Lawrence Wong as co-chair. Current Health Minister Ong Ye Kung joined the task force in April 2021.
Mr Ong described his time on the task force as a “very challenging, very meaningful experience”.
“Throughout this whole period we have so many conversations between authorities, between journalists, people talking very frankly, (about) problems we face, what we need to do,” he said.
This period built a lot of camaraderie and trust “that nothing can take away” and put Singapore “in a very intangible way, at a much higher level of resilience compared to many other places”.