Movement restrictions in Singapore will ease further come April 5 as the spread of Covid-19 infections within the community has remained low in the past month, averaging at around two per week.
As at 12pm on Mar 24, Singapore reported 15 infections of Covid-19, with all the cases being imported. This brings the total Covid-19 case count here to 60,236.
Starting April 5, 75% of the employees – who are presently able to work from home – can now be at the workplace at any one time. This is up from the current 50% cap.
With this, employers can shift from having working-from-home as a default to a more flexible and hybrid way of working.
Split team arrangements will also no longer be mandatory, although companies may continue to adopt such arrangements for business continuity, should they choose to do this. However, restrictions against cross-deployment across workplaces will remain in place, the multi-ministry taskforce elaborated.
Singapore’s restrictions are being eased in a “controlled, deliberate and steady manner” following the hard work that has gone into curbing the spread of the coronavirus, explains Education Minister Lawrence Wong.
The co-chair of the multi-ministry taskforce cautioned that we should not “get too excited” as there is still the possibility of new, unpredictable challenges that may come about.
Lower infection rates are also expected as more individuals receive vaccination.
As of Mar 23, some 1.1 million Covid-19 vaccine doses had been administered, the Covid-19 multi-ministry taskforce revealed in a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
This translates to around 799,000 individuals having received at least one dose of the vaccine. Amongst these individuals, around 310,000 have received their second dose and completed the full vaccination regimen.
So far, over 55% of seniors in Singapore have either received their vaccination or made appointments to do so. The taskforce is now looking to roll out the vaccination programme to younger persons, starting with those aged between 45 to 59.
“A key factor in how fast we vaccinate our population is the supply of vaccines,” said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who co-chairs the Covid-19 multi-ministry taskforce.
“We expect global supplies to remain tight and supply chains may be disrupted from time to time, which will affect our pace of vaccination,” he said, adding that the government will monitor Singapore’s supplies closely.
SEE:Malaysia, Singapore are working on reciprocal vaccine certificates
Further easing
Besides allowing a bigger proportion of workers back office, selected activities will be allowed to scale up further from 24 Apr, if they implement pre-event testing for their attendees.
For instance, marriage solemnisation ceremonies will be allowed to have 250 attendees in total, with attendees being placed in zones of up to 50 persons.
Couples whose ceremonies have over 100 attendees will be required to take the Covid-19 test prior to the event.
Similarly, the limit for wedding receptions will be increased from the current 100 person cap, to 250 for the entire event. Attendees must be placed into zones or timeslots of up to 50 persons.
All attendees of wedding receptions involving more than 100 attendees will also be required to take the Covid-19 test before the event.
Meanwhile, live performances at designated venues will be allowed to have up to 750 attendees if they have pre-event testing. Performances with 250 attendees will be permitted if pre-event testing is not permitted.
In the same regard, 750 attendees will be permitted for business-to-business events, should pre-event testing be implemented. Such events can take place for up to 250 attendees – who are placed in zones of no more than 50 attendees each - should pre-event testing not be imposed.
A similar arrangement is being piloted for sports events. Under this, sport events will be allowed to have up to 750 spectators if they implement pre-event testing, or to have up to 250 spectators without testing.
Aside from these relaxations, the number of persons allowed at wakes and funerals on the day of the burial/cremation will be increased from 30 to 50 persons at any point in time.
The cap on other days of the wake will remain at 30 attendees at any point in time.
Persons who have already completed the full vaccination regimen and have had time to develop sufficient protection (or two weeks after their second dose), can gain entry to events without having to undergo pre-event testing.
One aspect that will not have any change is the number of persons in social gatherings. This will remain at eight to prevent any possible spread of the infection, the taskforce explained.
