Ore Huiying | Bloomberg | Getty Images SINGAPORE — Singapore is to allow travelers not fully vaccinated to skip quarantine on arrival from Monday, authorities announced Wednesday. The country is also set to scrap indoor mask requirements from August 29 as it seeks to take another step towards life with Covid. While further easing of security measures and borders is an “important milestone”, the country must be “mentally prepared for any sudden change because we don’t know how this virus will mutate and what the next variant will be”, he said. Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is also co-chair of the Singapore Covid Task Force. Visitors who are not fully vaccinated must test negative for Covid within 2 days prior to departure for Singapore. But they will no longer have to serve a 7-day quarantine at home or at their place of residence. Currently, fully vaccinated travelers can enter Singapore without a Covid-19 test or quarantine. Unvaccinated long-term visitors and short-term visitors aged 13 and over currently need to apply for an entry permit to enter Singapore. This requirement will also be lifted from Monday, according to the Ministry of Health.
Amplifiers and Mask Facilitation Requirements
Masks will be optional indoors and required in designated areas such as on public transport and in healthcare settings such as hospitals, care homes and ambulances from Monday, the health ministry said. It is optional in taxis, private hire and at the airport. “The reason is that we have identified areas where essential services are carried out in closed, crowded spaces and which are often used by vulnerable people,” said Wong, who is also the country’s finance minister. The decision to lift mask requirements was first announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday. Currently, masks are required in almost all indoor spaces, with the exception of workplaces where there is no physical interaction or customer-facing areas.
CNBC Health & Science
Read CNBC’s latest global health coverage: In preparation for the next wave of omicron, a second Covid mRNA booster is now recommended for people aged 60 and over, five months after their first boost. The health ministry also recommended that children between the ages of 5 and 11 get a booster – five months after the second dose of their initial vaccination series – to boost their protection.
Covid situation in Singapore
“We continue to monitor closely and have plans for various contingencies, including scaling up health care capacity as well as … vaccinations if and when the need arises,” Wong said at a news conference on Wednesday. He added that these plans would “buy us time” if there is a Covid wave that is aggressive and dangerous. The seven-day average daily infections fell to 2,700 from Tuesday, as daily infections continued to fall from a record high of 26,032 on February 22. Most of those infected in Singapore have mild or no symptoms. The Southeast Asian country further eased Covid measures in late April. Social gatherings will no longer be limited to 10 people and people will not need to keep 1 meter apart. People wearing face masks as a precautionary measure against the spread of Covid-19 in Singapore. Maverick Asio | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images About 93% of the population completed the initial series of vaccinations as of Monday, while 79% of the total population received boosters. In April, separate rules for unvaccinated people were also removed, with some exceptions. Those who are not vaccinated will not be allowed to dine or attend events with more than 500 people. Nor can they visit nightclubs where dancing is involved. However, food and beverage outlets will not be required to check the vaccination status of customers, the health department said in a press release. This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
