SINGAPORE, May 4 — Singapore will effectively be back at phase two of reopening its economy and social activities from May 8 till May 30.
Singapore is currently at phase three of reopening from Dec 28, 2020.
Under phase two the republic will also further tighten its border measures from May 7, 2359 hours for all new travellers arriving from higher risk countries or regions.
These were announced by the republic’s Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF) on Covid-19 via a virtual press conference here today.
The MTF co chair Lawrence Wong said several countries continue to experience a resurgence of cases and the emergence of new virus variants which have also been found in Singapore.
Wong noted that the number of locally transmitted cases and unlinked community cases also continued to increase, signalling undetected community transmissions that could rapidly escalate into another major outbreak if not adequately contained in a timely manner.
“We will be taking decisive action to curb the Covid-19 infections in Singapore,” said Wong who is also the Education Minister.
As part of further tightening its border measures, the republic will reduce entry approvals for non- Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents with immediate effect.
The MTF among others will also extend consecutive travel history to 21 days from 14 days but this will exclude bilaterally negotiated travel lanes such as the Air Travel Bubble and Reciprocal Green Lane.
It is also reviewing the length of the Stay-Home Notice (SHN) duration to 21 days from 14 days as well.
However, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Mainland China, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao are excluded from the revision.
Meanwhile, starting May 8, the republic will impose additional measures, among others, reducing interactions among social circles.
The current permissible group size of up to eight persons will be reduced to up to five persons.
Employers, meanwhile, must ensure that no more than 50 per cent of employees who are able to work from home return to the workplace at any time.
Currently, up to 75 per cent of employees who are able to work-from-home are allowed to return to the workplace.
As at noon today, Singapore has preliminarily confirmed five new cases of locally transmitted Covid-19 infection.
In addition, there are 12 imported cases, involving those who had already been placed on SHN upon arrival in Singapore.
In total, there are 17 new cases of Covid-19 infection in Singapore today, bringing the total caseload to 61,252.
It has 10 clusters so far with the highest cases linked to Case 62541 Cluster, a nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). — Bernama
