SINGAPORE, Nov 20— From Monday, fully vaccinated people can dine together in groups of up to five, even if they are not from the same household.
The two-person cap on social gatherings will also be raised to five persons, and households may take in up to five distinct visitors per day from Monday.
The changes come after the Government announced that the Covid-19 “stabilisation phase” will end tomorrow.
In a statement today, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that Singapore will move into the “transition phase” of its reopening plan, bringing the country back on track on its four-stage roadmap to live with Covid-19.
Right now, fully vaccinated people are allowed to dine at food establishments in groups of up to five only if they are from the same household. If they are from different households, they may only dine in groups of two.
The easing of measures comes as the Covid-19 situation has improved since the stabilisation phase was extended for a month in October.
In its statement, MOH said that as far as possible, households should accept only visitors who are vaccinated, so as to protect those who are unvaccinated from exposure to the coronavirus, adding that unvaccinated people should protect themselves by staying home as much as possible.
“Visitors to households that have an unvaccinated person or vulnerable elderly are strongly encouraged to test themselves prior to the visit to ensure that they do not unwittingly transmit Covid-19 to those who are vulnerable.”
When the restriction eases on Monday, unvaccinated children aged 12 and below — that is, those born in 2009 or later — may be included within the group of five persons so long as all these children are from the same household.
Unvaccinated people of all ages may also dine in groups of up to five from December 1 if they are certified to be medically ineligible for the Covid-19 vaccines.
Hawker centres and coffee shops may allow group sizes of up to five people after they have implemented processes to check on the vaccination status of patrons. Otherwise, they may only take in fully vaccinated diners in groups of up to two.
MOH said the first batch of hawker centres and coffee shops are ready to begin checks on vaccination statuses from Tuesday.
The ministry said: “The National Environment Agency (NEA) has been actively consulting the Hawkers’ Associations, and working with the Town Councils and NEA-appointed operators, to also implement access control with vaccination checks at entry points at the remaining hawker centres by the end of November 2021.”
From Monday, the safe management measures for weddings will also be eased, if they put in place extra precautions.
Wedding couples will be allowed to take off their masks throughout their wedding reception or solemnisation.
Up to 10 members of the wedding party, such as the bridesmaids and groomsmen, will also be allowed to take off their masks when singing at the reception.
To be eligible for these eased measures, the wedding couple and those members of the wedding party must either take an antigen rapid test under the supervision of the venue operator, or have a valid pre-event testing certification taken 24 hours before the event.
More details will be given in a separate advisory by the Ministry of Social and Family Development.
Work from home, meanwhile, will remain the default arrangement for companies. ― TODAY
