Goh says SARS could be worst crisis for Singapore

Asian Economic News, April 21, 2003

SINGAPORE, April 19 Kyodo

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said Saturday that the outbreak of the deadly pneumonia SARS could turn out to be the worst crisis that Singapore has ever faced if it spreads beyond control.

''If we fail on this SARS in Singapore, it will become the worst crisis that our country has faced,'' Goh told a news conference at the presidential palace.

He estimated that the SARS epidemic would cost Singapore more than S$1.5 billion (about $850 million), which is about 1% of the city state's gross domestic product.

The government earlier in the week slashed its growth forecast for the Singapore economy from a range of 2% and 5% to just 0.5% and 2.5% due to the negative impact from SARS. In addition, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a S$230 million economic relief package targeted at the worst-hit industries, namely tourism- and transport-related industries.

Goh said the problem has been exacerbated by the fear factor, which was more damaging for the economy than the illness itself, by, for example, keeping tourists away from Singapore.

''There's such heavy cost. It's a crisis of fear, not just a crisis of SARS,'' he said.

So far, 172 people in Singapore have been infected with SARS, with the number rising every day. The fatalities also continued to climb with 16 deaths so far, including two unconfirmed cases.

Goh said that one of the ways to dispel fear among people outside the region is for the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to invite Japan and South Korea to join a proposed meeting of ASEAN health ministers to discuss how to tackle the epidemic.

Goh said the participation of Japan and South Korea would give these countries ''confidence that we are doing what we can to prevent the spread of SARS in Japan and Korea.''

The meeting would be a follow-up of a special ASEAN summit to be held in Thailand on April 29 to discuss regional cooperation to tackle the SARS outbreak. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Goh also proposed new measures aimed at allaying concerns of countries overseas about allowing Singaporeans to enter their countries. He suggested that Singapore should issue so-called ''SARS-Screen certificates'' when people here want to travel overseas.

The certificates will include the health history of a person who is going overseas, and will include his or her body temperature and the results of a diagnostic test for SARS, when this becomes available in the future.

Within the country, Goh said he has appointed a new committee of several ministers to combat the spread of SARS among Singapore hospitals, which has become a serious problem here due to the explosion of new infections in hospitals, with nine out of every 10 cases coming out from hospitals.