With just a few dozen Covid-19 deaths and one of the world's highest vaccination rates, Singapore wants to reopen for business — and is laying the groundwork to live with the coronavirus as it does other common diseases such as influenza, Reuters reports.

Its medical experts say residents may see hundreds of deaths each year from endemic Covid-19, similar to the flu. That pragmatic approach could set an example for other countries looking to exit lockdowns as they ramp up their own inoculation programmes.

“The only way to have no deaths from a disease anywhere in the world is to eliminate the disease altogether and that has only been done for smallpox,” said Paul Tambyah, president of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection.

Singapore has reported only 44 Covid-19 deaths since the outbreak started in early January 2020.

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