In a commentary, Hui Ying Lee, a Senior Analyst at NTU’s RSIS, said that on January 30, 2020 the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency as a novel coronavirus – since dubbed COVID-19 — threw the world into disarray. Lee added that the outbreak is exacerbating the inherent vulnerabilities present in small states like Singapore, given the country’s small population and high degree of economic openness, on top of having to perform a difficult balancing act between the global powers.