SINGAPORE – Singapore will get its first highest-level biosafety containment lab ready by 2025 – the first such facility in South-east Asia – to prepare for the next big pandemic or biological threat, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Monday (March 1).
Some $90 million will be spent to upgrade the capabilities of the national defence research agency DSO National Laboratories to biosafety level 4 (BSL-4), the topmost level of biosafety precautions globally, said Dr Ng during the debate over the Ministry of Defence’s (Mindef) budget in Parliament.
Viruses are classified into Risk Groups 1 to 4, according to their transmissibility and lethality. Current facilities within DSO National Laboratories can safely handle Risk Group 3 viruses like Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and Covid-19, said Mindef.
