Grappling with the protracted pandemic: assessing gov.sg's COVID-19 crisis communication efforts

Abstract

The protracted coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had severe ramifications on daily lives of Singaporeans, including prolonged social-distancing measures and restrictions on other activities to mitigate the spread of the virus. On August 10 this year, the government utilised gov.sg, their official online communication platform, to announce vaccination-differentiated social distancing measures (VDSDMs) on Facebook for individuals in higher-risk settings such as gatherings and dining-in. This has invoked public backlash over how the measures were conveyed, which has compounded existing detrimental socio-emotional phenomena such as pandemic fatigue. This study utilised a crisis communication framework by Coombs (2019), Hyland-Wood (2021) and NATO (2017) to assess the efficacy of gov.sg’s crisis communication through Facebook with regards to VDSDMs in August 2021. The paper adopted a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of data revealed that gov.sg’s crisis communication can be further enhanced in the domains of clarity, transparency, empathy and interactivity. Policy recommendations were proposed to strengthen government communication with the public.