Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Singapore will pay citizens to have a baby during the pandemic
The tech-savvy Singapore has deployed measures to battle the coronavirus pandemic, including park patrolling robots to remind social distancing and a smartphone app and device to trace contacts. Along with strict lockdowns and isolation initiatives, the city-state with a population of 5.6 million has recorded less than 30 deaths by Covid-19. Now, they are concerned about a further decline of their already low birthrate due to the pandemic. Although 2.1 babies are needed to sustain the population, Singapore’s fertility rate stands around 1.14 per woman. Since the nation lies on the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula, there are no natural resources, even drinking water, human resources and population are both vital for their future. Therefore, the government announced a one-time payment to couples to keep their parenthood plans even during the pandemic. The amount of the incentive hasn’t been disclosed, yet.
A progressive move, indeed. Other countries with low fertility rates are also concerned about the number of new-born babies next year.
Enjoy reading the text and think about what could remove or ease the fear of having babies during the pandemic.
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