(March 8): Singapore should have closed its borders more aggressively once it appeared Covid-19 was spreading globally, a government report found, hinting that it will act faster in future pandemics.

Restrictions that hindered expatriates from returning to the city during the crisis alienated them, according to the white paper based on insights from former civil service head Peter Ho and other agencies. A U-turn on mask-wearing also hurt public sentiment, the report published Wednesday found.

The Southeast Asian nation, which spent at least S$72.3 billion (US$53.4 billion) to contain the virus, won plaudits for limiting deaths and establishing one of the world’s highest vaccination rates. But loopholes in its early quarantine regime allowed the virus to enter and spread, leading to a partial lockdown in April 2020.

How countries dealt with the pandemic has turned into a politically charged issue. The UK government is facing pressure over its handling of mass Covid outbreaks in care homes. In the US, pandemic measures were targeted by Republicans who argued they weren’t necessary and harmed businesses. The financial impact was also a key issue in Singapore.

“We might have placed too much emphasis on livelihoods and been overly anxious about preserving the functioning of our economy and jobs,” according to the report. “While we learn about a likely dangerous infectious disease, we must move quickly to impose suitable border measures in response to an initial outbreak.”

Governments and health agencies across the world now are analysing the measures they adopted to deal with Covid-19 and preparing for future threats. Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chaired a pandemic task force, said in a Facebook post the white paper will be debated in parliament later this month.

Other key takeaways from the paper:

• Expats could have been let back in sooner, as restrictions imposed on their return incurred reputational costs and lost goodwill
• Initial guidance discouraging mask-wearing should have been less definitive, as the public viewed the subsequent change making them mandatory in some places a “U-turn”
• The government should have been clearer about the use of contact tracing data, as revelations that it could be for police investigations “caused unhappiness and affected public trust”
• Citizens were understandably frustrated as Singapore transitioned to living with Covid and initially backtracked on the easing of some measures
• Overly elaborate restrictions such as differing rules for physical activities “confused the public”
• Early efforts to contain what became a mass outbreak in migrant worker dormitories were insufficient, and more reliable information on the community should be maintained