SINGAPORE — Come Friday (June 19), Singapore will virtually reopen its entire economy as it enters Phase Two of its circuit breaker exit.

The first phase has been in place since June 2, with limited easing of measures to contain the spread of Covid-19.

After more than two months of strict measures, things will all change from Friday, with many Singaporeans looking forward to resuming their favourite activities.

But just as the Covid-19 multi-ministry task force has urged Singaporeans not to let their guard down and mistakenly think that life has returned to normal, infectious diseases experts reiterated the need for the population to stay vigilant.

After all, they do not have to look far beyond Singapore’s shores to see how some countries in Asia have been hit by a resurgence of Covid-19 cases after reopening their economies.

“All you need is a super-spreading event, and the numbers will shoot up through the roof,” said Dr Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases specialist from the Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre.

Dr Paul Tambyah, the president of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, pointed out that some cases in Singapore which were detected by enhanced surveillance testing have raised concern about undetected hidden reservoirs of infection.

“The key will be maintaining vigilant surveillance, widespread testing to identify every case and careful contact tracing to break the chains of transmission,” he said.

As countries around the world reopen their economies after having imposed strict measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) has also issued a warning.

"More than six months into the pandemic, this is not the time for any country to take its foot off the pedal," said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in an online briefing on June 8.

On Monday, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs Singapore’s task force, cautioned that restrictions would have to be reintroduced if there is a surge in Covid-19 infections in Phase Two.

“I want to appeal to all Singaporeans to be responsible in undertaking the activities that are permitted under Phase Two. Do not treat Phase Two as a signal that we can all relax, we can all let our guard down and we can now go out and do all our favourite activities,” Mr Wong stressed.

Here are some countries that have seen a resurgence in Covid-19 cases:

Iran

• As one of the first nations to be hit by Covid-19, Iran’s infection rates peaked at around 3,186 infections a day on March 30, even as the country shut down all non-essential economic activity in mid-March.

• On April 6, some shuttered businesses were allowed to reopen. The country’s daily number of new cases hit a low of 802 on May 2.

• However, about a month later, the figure shot up to 3,574 on June 4. As of June 16, Iran has seen a total of 192,439 Covid-19 cases and 9,065 deaths resulting from Covid-19.

China

• Beijing has seen a recent spike in the number of Covid-19 infections, with the latest outbreak at the Xinfadi food wholesale market having affected 106 people so far.

• This comes a little over two months after the lockdown of Wuhan — the epicentre of the initial outbreak in China — was lifted on April 8, with measures across the country gradually eased.

• As a result of this recent outbreak, 29 communities in Beijing have been locked down as of Tuesday, with cases attributed to the wholesale market being found in other provinces such as Hebei and Sichuan.

• While state-run newspapers reported that the virus was present on chopping boards used for imported salmon at the market, WHO officials said on Monday that the origins of the new cluster of infections remain uncertain.

• Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s emergencies programme, said: “I think we need to look at what has happened in this case, I don't believe it is the primary hypothesis. But it needs to be explored.”

South Korea

• While South Korea was able to successfully subdue its initial wave of Covid-19 infections through the heavy use of geolocation to conduct contact tracing and mass-testing, cases have picked up since restrictions were eased in May.

• This was partly attributed to a super-spreading event in Itaewon, where at least 119 cases were linked to nightspots in the area which had reopened.

• Since then, among 618 cases detected in the first two weeks of June, around one in 10 cases could not be traced, said the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said that a cluster of cases linked to Richway, a Seoul-based door-to-door sales company that markets health products to the elderly, was particularly alarming as most of its employees are in their 60s and 70s. As of Monday, the cluster had grown to 169 cases.

Japan

• On Monday, the Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed 48 new Covid-19 infections, its biggest daily increase since early May.

• The metropolitan government also said that 20 of the 48 confirmed cases worked at nightlife establishments, stoking fears that Japan could face a second wave of virus cases.

• While the number of cases in Tokyo had been falling through late May, it has since begun increasing again after the state of emergency over the prefecture was lifted.

• The metropolitan government has said it may consider reinstating emergency measures, if the number of daily infections exceed 50, more than half of the cases are untraceable, or cases double from the previous week.