The Straits Times/ANN
SINGAPORE -Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be addressing the nation at 5pm on Monday (Dec 14) to give an update on the Covid-19 situation and the outlook for next year.
The co-chairs of the ministerial task force tackling the pandemic - Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and Education Minister Lawrence Wong - will hold a press conference immediately after, he said in a Facebook post.
"It's been some time since my last address on Covid-19," Mr Lee wrote. "But please stay calm - no need to stock up on anything!"
His speech will be streamed live on his Facebook page, as well as on television and radio channels.
Two coronavirus-related topics have been making headlines in recent months.
The first is the coronavirus vaccine, with more than 200 vaccine candidates being developed worldwide. Singapore has been monitoring the progress of vaccine development and has taken steps to secure a portfolio of vaccines.
The other hot topic is moving to phase three of reopening.
Mr Wong has said three conditions must first be met for the country to move to phase three: a 70 per cent TraceTogether take-up rate, safe management compliance and sufficient testing capabilities.
On Friday, the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office said in a Forum letter that "more than 60 per cent" of Singapore residents are currently on the TraceTogether programme.
Over the course of this year, PM Lee has made several major speeches laying out Singapore's plan to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
In his first such address on Feb 8, he urged Singaporeans to stay resolute in the face of what was then a new and relatively unknown virus.
Just over a month later, he warned that more stringent measures might have to be taken, as the pandemic looked set to continue for some time.
This was followed by his announcement of the circuit breaker on April 3. All schools and most workplaces were shut, with social interactions and movement outside the home severely limited in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.
Mr Lee added a special appeal to seniors several days later, urging them to stay home for their own safety.
On April 21, the Prime Minister then announced that the circuit breaker would be extended as total case numbers continued to climb, especially in migrant worker dormitories.
Mr Lee, along with Senior Ministers Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing and Education Minister Lawrence Wong, also made a series of national broadcasts on Singapore's future post Covid-19.
In June, he also explained why he had decided to call the general election on July 10 despite the pandemic.
Watch PM Lee’s speech live on The Straits Times website, Facebook page and YouTube channel.
