When the virus hit the Singapore migrant workers' dormitory, the city's "golden image" was hit hard, but now they are once again the role model of anti-epidemic.

Since Covid-19 swept the globe this year, cities from Asia to Europe and the US have been stuck in a vicious cycle.

While Germany, France and the UK have just imposed a second blockade, Hong Kong has closed schools and offices for the third time this year as the city entered a fourth wave of infections.

But there is one major city that seems to have successfully controlled the virus with just one blockade: Singapore.

In the city of 5.7 million people, life has returned to a "new normal", in the politicians' words.

The only difference compared to the period before Covid-19 is that people now wear masks, do not drink alcohol after 10:30 p.m., nightclubs and karaoke bars are still closed, group gatherings are limited to 5 people or less.

This scene is in stark contrast to April and May, when Singapore underwent a strict partial blockade known as "break off the circuit breaker" - schools and offices closed, restaurants were only allowed to sell carry-on items.

At that time, residents were only allowed to go out to exercise (alone or with members of the same household) or go to the supermarket (only one member in the household).

The eight-week "break off the circuit breaker" is how Singapore responded to the sudden increase in cases as Singaporeans studying and working abroad massively returned in late February and March, carrying the virus.

In March, the number of Singaporean Covid-19 cases increased tenfold to 1,000.

The infection affected Singapore's reputation, which until then was hailed as a successful anti-epidemic lesson.

Jeremy Lim, associate professor at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at National University of Singapore (NUS), calls the inadequate attention to migrant workers' dormitories as Singapore's "biggest mistake".

However, by December, Singapore had successfully contained the virus to the point that it could host conferences with 250 guests and will soon allow mass entertainment events such as musical performances and open pilots.

Not only that, but the World Economic Forum decided to hold a Special Annual Meeting in Singapore instead of the snowy Davos mountains, marking the second in 49 years of the conference to be held outside of Switzerland.

Singapore is also starting to open new travel lanes for business people, allowing them to enter the country for short-term stay without isolation, although the "travel bubble" is exempt from isolation from Hong Kong for tourists.

Optimism is compounded when the government this week announced that it will receive the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine before the end of the year and hopes to have enough vaccine from both Pfizer and other companies for the entire population.

Singapore has done "an incredible resource mobilization" for its current success, Lim said.

Singapore currently records a total of more than 58,000 infections, but only 86 of them are under treatment.

"Boxer Mike Tyson used to say that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Singapore has shown they can take it and get back up," Lim said.

While medical experts such as Lim say it is too early to conclude Singapore's anti-epidemic action with the ongoing battle with Covid-19, Singapore's turnaround is remarkable.

Experts say Singapore's success is due to a series of factors such as the "break the circuit breaker" measure, keeping migrant workers in dormitories while waiting for infections to decline and policies focusing on rapid access.

Teo Yik Ying, principal of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said Singapore's policies are based on scientific evidence.

Public trust in government and civil service is also important, Teo said.

As of this month, 65% of the population has ignored privacy concerns to join the TraceTogether program, using a smartphone app or token to track moves, to help officials know who

According to Hsu Li Yang, an associate professor at Saw Swee Hock School, it is important that the government "is not afraid to admit there are gaps and mistakes" and to continue to improve policies.

"This can only be done by closely monitoring the situation and leveraging the knowledge from this monitoring to improve efficiency," he said.

Singapore has also moved from allowing citizens from abroad to return home by themselves to compulsory hotel isolation, after some people violated the rules.

On January 31, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong argued that there was no spread in the community in Singapore and that masks provided a "false sense of security" that people could simply wear without hand hygiene.

But then, when the mask's effectiveness became apparent, the government's recommendation changed.

This month, Singapore is preparing to open the third phase.

However, the restriction still applies to the 323,000 migrant workers from Bangladesh, India and China living in dormitories.

In the early days, when the virus was rampant in dormitories, these facilities turned into quarantined areas - workers could not work and had to stay in rooms.

The current situation is brighter.

Currently, migrant workers are still not free to move, but only allowed to go to work.

"While the rest of Singapore is back to normal, migrant workers are still paying the price for our failures. They should be given real freedom of movement. Public health restrictions.

Singapore will prioritize vaccination of health care workers, first-line anti-epidemic workers as well as vulnerable patients.

With the World Economic Forum scheduled to take place in May and authorities working to set a "travel bubble" with other low-infection countries, Singapore must maintain its infection rate.

Hsu says that as long as Singapore can maintain the safety measures they are taking, the infection in the community will remain low.

Another problem that can happen is the fatigue and depression caused by the epidemic of people, causing them to loosen their rules and ignore the risks.

Experts say the government's consistent, straightforward and clear communication is key to preventing this.

According to Hsu, the government has shown it to understand public fatigue by announcing that phase three will start on December 28 and the vaccine offers greater hope that more restrictions could be.

"The government, civic groups and local media are also constantly encouraging people to remain vigilant," he said.

If that fails, Singapore will deploy "an army of spacing ambassadors" - people who go to malls, parks and restaurants to remind people to keep their distance and wear masks, Teo said.

Singapore will deploy the vaccine on a voluntary basis and free of charge.

Nationwide vaccination, Lim said, will help return to normal life.

"Fortunately, there is no need to vaccinate the entire population to achieve public immunity or at least protect large numbers of people," Hsu said.

Teo stressed that until then, everyone must remember that the world still faces a pandemic, even if the situation is under control in Singapore.

"By the time these classes are lifted, especially the border control layer, Singapore will also experience a large-scale community spread outbreak similar to those in North America and Europe," Teo said.