SINGAPORE, May 2 — From Tuesday (May 5), circuit breaker measures will be gradually eased, paving the way for certain businesses to resume operations and small groups of students to return for face-to-face lessons, a multi-ministry task force dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak said today.

But even as these measures are eased, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the task force, said that Singaporeans must stay disciplined and vigilant.

“If there is no necessity to go out, stay at home — that must still be the mindset. Refrain from going out in groups, even if it’s with people from your own household,” he said. 

“We are not out of the woods… and we don’t want to risk a flare up of the virus again.”

When asked about whether restrictions will be eased on places of worship, Wong said it will probably be “quite some time” before this happens.

“We will want to refrain from any kind of close contact with people. So any premise, any event, any activity that entails large groups gathering in close proximity… those sorts of settings will have to wait for quite some time before they can resume. These will be the last we will allow.” 

Here is the broad timeline that Wong laid out for the easing of circuit breaker measures in the coming days:

May 5: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners will be able to resume needle acupuncture services for cases in which this treatment is deemed essential and the TCM halls linked to them will be allowed to sell retail products.

Essential activities will be allowed in the common areas of private condominium estates. Wong said the same rules that apply outside, in public areas, will apply inside condominium estates.

This means that facilities such as gyms and swimming pools will have to remain closed but essential activities such as walking and running will be allowed on the grounds of these estates. Residents will have to wear a mask while walking on the grounds and they cannot be out in groups.

Enforcement officers will be entering the condos periodically to conduct spot checks, Wong added.

May 12: Selected activities and services will be allowed to resume operations, including home-based businesses, food manufacturing and selected food retail outlets, laundry services, barbers and pet supplies.

May 19: Some students will be allowed to return to school in small groups for face-to-face lessons. Priority will be given to graduating cohorts who are sitting for national examinations this year, students who need school facilities for coursework and those who need critical consultations for their projects.

Safe distancing requirements at work premises

As businesses resume operations and work premises are gradually reopened, they will have to implement strict safe distancing requirements, Wong said. 

This means, for example, that companies have to ensure their employees are physically spaced out, there is no mixing of staff from different teams when they are deployed to different sites and there is no socialising among staff, such as gatherings at the pantry. 

All work premises will also have to implement the Safe Entry app, which logs the details of anyone entering the premises, to help speed up contact tracing if needed.

“We are working out the measures and will engage industry associations and business chambers so that we can put in place all requirements so we can allow premises to open up,” Wong said. — TODAY