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Singapore’s regulatory response to COVID-19 demonstrates the supremacy of parliamentary logic. The Act also allows aspiring candidates who are ill to be absent during nomination proceedings and for special arrangements to be made for the poll and vote counting. The amendment allows for Parliament to sit in a location other than the Parliament House if Parliament “ resolves that it is or will be impossible, unsafe, or inexpedient for Parliament to sit and meet in one place.” The provision allows for the designation of an alternative parliamentary meeting place and is intended to be temporary, applicable only for a period of six months after an appointed date, although it can be extended for an additional six months after that.įinally, Parliament passed the Parliamentary Elections (COVID-19 Special Arrangements) Act, which authorized temporary arrangements to conduct elections so that voters subject to quarantine or stay-at-home orders could vote outside of their electoral divisions. In May, the Parliament of Singapore amended Article 64 of Singapore’s Constitution, which governs Parliament’s sessions. Other regulations also restricted the operation of businesses and movement of people-most notably the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020. Regulations provided for the transfer of property tax remissions from landlords to tenants, the remote solemnization of marriages, temporary relief for inability to perform contracts, and alternative arrangements for various corporate, charitable, trade union, and society meetings. Pursuant to this Act, a number of regulations emerged as subsidiary legislation, dealing with various issues to control the situation. The Act also allowed government officials to restrict certain activities to prevent the spread of the virus. Among other things, this wide-ranging law suspended contractual obligations, provided relief to financially distressed parties, established practices for conducting in-person meetings, and introduced measures to keep the courts functioning using remote communications technology. To effect these measures, the Parliament of Singapore passed the COVID–19 (Temporary Measures) Act on April 7.

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Restrictions on the population’s local movement were imposed in early April, in a series of what the government called “circuit breaker” measures. Subsequently, all inbound passengers were put on two-week quarantines and, by March 23, the government had prohibited short-term visitors from arriving or transiting through Singapore. The government imposed travel restrictions, with the first wave applied to inbound visitors, especially those from China. Working off a set of protocols devised after the SARS pandemic of 2003, the government immediately enforced contact tracing procedures to identify those who came into contact with infected individuals and place them under two-week quarantine orders.Īfter these immediate measures, the Singapore government’s COVID-19 response consisted of a raft of regulations and restrictions. Shortly after, the government formed a Ministerial Task Force-co-chaired by the Ministers of Health and National Development-to deal with the coming contagion. The next day, Singapore’s first COVID-19 case was confirmed. The Singapore government acted with characteristic efficiency and decisiveness when the first suspected COVID-19 case landed on the island’s shores in January.

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