Singapore to ease COVID-19 curbs in two phases from 14 June 2021

By Rei Kurohi, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2021

Tighter measures currently in place to reduce the spread of Covid-19 will be eased progressively from next Monday (June 14).

In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said Singapore will gradually reopen and move to phase three (heightened alert) in two steps.

Here are the key announcements.

The current two-person limit on group social gatherings will be raised to five from next Monday.

The same two-person cap on the number of unique daily visitors to a household will also be raised to five.

MOH said such gatherings should still be limited to small groups of regular contacts, to reduce the likelihood of transmission. Groups of up to five per room will be allowed for hotel stays, up from two currently.

It advised the public to limit the number of social gatherings to no more than two a day.

Attractions, cruises, museums and public libraries will be allowed to operate at 50 per cent of their normal capacity from June 14, up from the current 25 per cent.

Event sizes will also be increased, and live performances and spectator sports events will be allowed to resume.

Events such as movie screenings at cinemas, events in the Mice (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions) industry, worship services and marriage solemnisation outside the home will be able to resume with up to 250 attendees, if pre-event testing (PET) is conducted.

For marriages, the cap includes the wedding couple but not solemnisers or vendors.

Solemnisations held at home will be allowed for groups of up to five visitors, excluding members of the hosting household, or up to 10 attendees in total, whichever is higher.

PET will not be required for events with 50 or fewer attendees.

From Monday, personal care services which require masks to be removed, such as facials, will be allowed to resume.

But unmasking and singing or playing wind instruments, as well as wedding receptions with dining in, can resume only from June 21.

Dining in at food and beverage (F&B) outlets may be allowed from June 21, if the situation remains under control.

These are considered high-risk settings, MOH said.

It reminded F&B establishments to strictly observe 1m safe distancing between groups of diners.

Groups must also be limited to five people, and patrons must wear their masks at all times except while eating and drinking.

Wedding receptions will be allowed for up to 100 attendees - a number which includes the couple but not the solemnisers or vendors - with PET in place for all attendees.

PET will be required for only the wedding party of up to 20 attendees if the reception has 50 or fewer total attendees.

From June 21, fitness studios and gyms may resume activities which involve removing one's mask, with safe distancing of at least 2m between individuals (even within a group) and 3m between groups of individuals.

Sports classes, both indoors and outdoors, will be limited to 30 people, including the instructor, and groups must consist of no more than five people.

In-person tuition and enrichment classes for those aged 18 and below may also be allowed to resume from June 21. These include classes involving singing or the playing of wind instruments.

Employers must ensure that employees who can work from home continue to do so even as Singapore reopens gradually, MOH said.

This is so overall footfall and interactions in public are kept low, thereby reducing the risk of infections.

For those who need to return to the workplace, their start times should be staggered and they should be allowed flexible working hours.

Employers will still not be allowed to cross-deploy workers to multiple work sites.

As some activities remain closed until June 20, the Government will extend the current enhancements to the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) for affected sectors.

From June 21 to 30, the affected sectors will receive 10 per cent JSS support.

The Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund for taxi and private-hire drivers will also be extended for three more months.

This will be set at $300 per vehicle each month for the first two months, and $150 per vehicle for the third month.

Regular testing will be implemented for staff working in F&B establishments with dining in, personal-care services requiring the removal of masks, and gyms or fitness studios where customers are unmasked.

The "fast and easy" testing regime will, for example, use antigen rapid tests (ART) for all staff regardless of vaccination status.

ART self-test kits will also be sold at retail pharmacies such as Guardian, Unity and Watsons from June 16.

More details on these kits will be available from June 16, the MOH said.

Sales will initially be limited to 10 kits per person.

Singaporeans aged 12 to 39 will be able to register online for vaccination and book an appointment from Friday.

MOH said the booking link may take up to two weeks to be sent to those who register, as more appointment slots for vaccination open up when more supplies arrive.

The rest of the resident population will be invited to register in the coming months.

Those who had earlier recovered from Covid-19 infection are recommended to receive just a single dose of the vaccine, MOH said.

This is because those who have recovered in the last six months are likely to still have strong immunity.

Children under the age of 18 will require parental consent to book an appointment.

By Linette Lai, Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2021

Singapore will relax restrictions on social gatherings in a two-step process from Monday, when people will once again be allowed to gather in groups of up to five.

If all goes well, higher-risk activities such as dining in at food and beverage outlets may be allowed a week later, from June 21.

But working from home will remain the default for the entire period to reduce interaction in public areas and footfall on public transport, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday.

Urging vigilance as Singapore opens up, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, who co-chairs the task force handling the pandemic, said: "We may continue to see a few cases every day, but that is the nature of the virus." The aim is to keep overall numbers low and avoid large clusters, he added.

In the first step of Singapore's staggered reopening, operating capacity limits for attractions, cruises, museums and public libraries will go up from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. Size limits for events such as movie screenings and wedding solemnisations will also be increased, although pre-event testing must be in place for gatherings of more than 50 people.

When dining in is permitted, the authorities will be "significantly stepping up enforcement and will take firmer enforcement action for any breaches", MOH said.

Other activities such as wedding receptions and the playing of wind instruments at live performances will also be permitted, while gyms and fitness studios will be allowed to resume mask-off activities.

The number of new Covid-19 cases reported daily has fallen since tightened measures were put in place on May 16, when Singapore saw 38 community cases. This number has remained in the single digits since June 6, with most linked to other cases, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung noted yesterday.

The seven-day moving average of new cases stood at 11.9 on Wednesday, down from 22.6 at the peak of the outbreak.

Mr Ong highlighted how this wave of transmission was controlled without a circuit breaker (CB) using methods such as extensive contact tracing, testing, vaccination, and localised lockdowns of malls and schools.

"That means if there are any future outbreaks, we can use all these methods to control and break the chain of transmission, as opposed to a very blanket approach and a very painful CB," he said.

But the minister also warned against complacency, given how transmissible the Delta variant first discovered in India is.

Singapore will need to see the seven-day rolling average dip further. It will also have to monitor the situation for 14 days - or one incubation cycle of the virus - starting from June 6 before it can be assured that most "embers of this virus... have been put out". June 6 is when Singapore first started seeing low daily community case numbers.

Mr Ong also announced that Singapore citizens aged 12 to 39 will be able to book their vaccination appointments from today. They will be given a two-week priority window in which to do so.

As at Wednesday, more than 2.5 million people - around 44 per cent of Singapore's population - had gotten at least one dose of a Covid-19 jab. Around 49,000 doses are administered daily, with more than 4.4 million doses given overall.

Mr Ong noted that since April 11, around 9 per cent of unvaccinated people who contracted Covid-19 developed severe symptoms, compared with less than 1 per cent of those who were fully vaccinated.

He added that coronavirus self-test kits will soon be available for sale at selected retail pharmacies. They deliver results in less than 20 minutes and are simple to use, he said.

By Choo Yun Ting, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2021

Staff who work in higher-risk settings with unmasked customers will have to undergo regular Covid-19 testing, with the Government covering the cost of these tests for the next three months.

These include workers at dine-in food and beverage (F&B) establishments, saunas, gyms and fitness studios where clients are unmasked.

Mandatory fast and easy testing (FET) will start from next month for those working at dine-in F&B establishments, as dining in with a maximum group size of five will be allowed to resume from June 21.

Personal care and appearance services which require masks to be removed, such as facials and saunas, will be allowed to resume from June 14.

This expanded testing regime was announced yesterday by the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19, alongside the relaxation of measures in two stages.

FET uses tests such as antigen rapid tests, which can produce results in about 30 minutes and can be done on-site.

All workers will have to undergo testing, regardless of their vaccination status.

The Ministry of Health said FET capacity will be ramped up aggressively in the coming months, with mandatory testing progressively rolled out to larger establishments first and extended to smaller businesses later on.

Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19, said yesterday that the Government is working out the details of this new testing regime.

These include the frequency of testing, where it is conducted and whether it can be self-administered. More information will be announced later by the relevant agencies, the minister said.

The regime is part of measures which Singapore is taking to minimise virus transmission and the risk of large clusters breaking out as it reopens in a cautious and controlled manner, he said.

The Government will cover the cost of testing over the next three months for a start, said Mr Wong.

"We are doing that during this period because it is important to get everyone tested regularly and put this in place.

"Beyond that, employers will have to start thinking about incorporating these processes as part of their BCPs (business continuity planning)."

Mr Wong stressed that Singapore must continue to ensure compliance with safe distancing rules and safe management measures, especially in higher-risk settings such as F&B outlets, where people do not have their masks on.

Measures which F&B operators have to take in line with safe distancing rules include ensuring that their restaurants have good ventilation and groups of diners are seated at least 1m apart.

Testing is one of three strategies, alongside contact tracing and vaccination, through which Singapore is battling Covid-19 in the face of new and more contagious variants.

Rostered routine testing is already being conducted in a number of higher-risk settings in Singapore, including migrant worker dormitories, construction sites, shipyards, air and sea ports, hospitals and nursing homes.

Individuals, whether vaccinated or not, are tested once every seven days or once every 14 days, depending on their risk level.

By Lim Min Zhang, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2021

Singaporeans aged 12 to 39 can book their vaccination appointments from today, as the national vaccination programme is extended.

Citizens will have a two-week priority window to book their appointments, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said yesterday.

"This is a big group of about 1.5 million people who have yet to be vaccinated, so Singapore citizens aged 12 to 39 who have yet to be invited will get a two-week priority window to book your vaccination," he said at a news conference by the multi-ministry task force tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his national address on May 31, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced that vaccination for those aged 39 and below would commence from mid-June.

This decision was made after Singapore received further confirmation of faster vaccine deliveries over the next two months, and can further boost its vaccination programme, given the latest supply schedule.

Those aged 39 and younger are the last remaining group to be vaccinated, PM Lee had said, after the roll-out was extended to students earlier this month.

Mr Ong said yesterday that Singapore's vaccination exercise was progressing well, with more than 4.4 million doses administered as at Wednesday.

More than 2.5 million people - about 44 per cent of the population - have had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, he said.

Singapore's Covid-19 vaccination drive kicked off last December, with healthcare workers the first to receive a jab.

Mr Ong, who co-chairs the task force, also gave an update on the effect of vaccination on the severity of illness should someone contract Covid-19.

Of the local infections since April 11, 9 per cent of those who were unvaccinated developed serious disease, he said. This meant that they needed supplementary oxygen or had to be put in the intensive care unit.

Among those who had been fully vaccinated, only one case required supplemental oxygen, and the patient was already ill before getting infected. So far, 131 people who were fully vaccinated have been infected.

"In other words, 9 per cent versus less than 1 per cent, in fact, less than 0.8 per cent," said Mr Ong.

He added that because younger students can take only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, those who go to a vaccination centre which offers the Moderna vaccine are more likely to get an earlier slot. Locations of vaccination centres and the type of vaccine administered can be found at vaccine.gov.sg

In a statement yesterday, MOH said those in the eligible age group of 12 to 39 can register online at the website. Children who turn 12 this year must have crossed their birthday before they are eligible to book a vaccination appointment.

After registration, people will be progressively invited to book their vaccination appointments via an SMS with a personalised booking link sent to the mobile number they had registered with, said MOH. The SMS may take up to two weeks, as more appointment slots will be made available as more supplies arrive.

Those who had registered their interest earlier at vaccine.gov.sg do not need to re-register. The invitation to register will eventually be extended to the rest of the population over the coming months, said the ministry.

Children under 18 will require the consent of their parent or guardian to book an appointment.

Children aged 13 and above do not need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian to the vaccination site, unlike those aged 12 or younger.

By Lim Min Zhang, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2021

Singapore is aiming for half its residents to be fully vaccinated by August, and at least 75 per cent by October.

As at Monday (June 7), more than 1.8 million people, or about 30 per cent of the population, have been fully vaccinated.

Finance Minister Lawrence Wong gave the projection at a news conference on Thursday (June 10), as he noted that the United States saw infection rates steadily come down - from a peak in January this year - when about half the population developed immunity to the coronavirus which causes Covid-19.

He added that more than 40 per cent of people in the US are fully vaccinated, and about 10 per cent have been infected with the virus.

Singapore has not reached that level of immunity yet, but "we will get there soon", said Mr Wong.

In his national address on May 31, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the country's target is for everyone who is eligible for a vaccination and wants everyone to get at least their first jab by National Day on Aug 9.

With a higher vaccination rate, compliance with social distancing and safe management measures, regular testing, and faster and more comprehensive contact tracing, Singapore will ease restrictions and gradually restore "our normal lives, both within Singapore and at our borders", said Mr Wong, who is co-chair of the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19.

For now, phase two (heightened alert) measures will be rolled back from Monday in a cautious and controlled manner, while maintaining strict controls at borders.

The maximum group size for social gatherings will increase from two people to five, among other relaxation of rules.

The second stage of the reopening will happen from June 21, when dining in at eateries may be allowed, with a maximum group size of five.

Such restrictions are needed in phase three (heightened alert) until Singapore's vaccination rate is higher, said Mr Wong.

"It is not quite the full phase three, we call this phase three (heightened alert) because there are still these restrictions in place."

The announcement on the relaxation of rules comes amid a decline in community cases in the past three weeks.

Mr Wong said: "As we progress through these stages (of reopening), we will ease our restrictions and gradually restore our normal lives, both within Singapore and at our borders. Then we will move to phase three, and even beyond phase three, to a new normal phase of living with endemic Covid."

By Tay Hong Yi, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2021

Market stallholders will be getting some help in coping with reduced business during this period of Covid-19 curbs.

A month's worth of rental waivers will be given to around 7,000 market stallholders in markets managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) or NEA-appointed operators.

This was announced by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, yesterday.

In a Facebook post, Dr Khor noted that during the ongoing phase of heightened alert to stem the spread of Covid-19, market stallholders were as affected by lower footfall as cooked-food stallholders.

Rental waivers for cooked-food stallholders in hawker centres, which have seen a significant decline in business, were announced last month as part of a $9 million relief package by NEA.

Those waivers, worth about $5.5 million, covered half the rent payable for around 6,000 cooked-food stallholders for May and June.

The June waiver also applied to new cooked-food stallholders with tenancies starting on June 1.

Five months' worth of rental waivers were given to around 14,000 market and cooked-food stallholders last year during the height of the Covid-19 crisis.

Last year's waivers formed part of the Supplementary Budget and the Fortitude Budget unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat to reduce the operating costs for these stallholders amid flagging business due to pandemic restrictions.

Dr Khor, who is also Senior Minister of State for Transport, encouraged both market and cooked-food stallholders facing significant income loss of at least 50 per cent as a result of the tightened measures to apply for a one-off $500 payout under the Covid-19 Recovery Grant.

She added: "During these difficult times, let us all do our part to support one another, including our stallholders.

"Please support our hawker or market stalls with your next food purchase."

By Clara Chong, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2021

Reopening Singapore's local community and restarting the economy in a safe manner is the Government's immediate priority before border measures can be eased.

Only after the local situation is stable will Singapore have space and capacity to think about how its borders can be relaxed, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, said at a virtual news conference yesterday.

When asked if expatriates who have called Singapore their home - but currently live outside the country - will have a chance to return, Mr Gan said: "We are very conscious that there are expats who are coming back to Singapore, they have been staying here and working from Singapore for many years... We are constantly reviewing our border control measures.

"In the immediate future, or the next couple of weeks, our focus is... opening up our local community and restarting our economy, allowing more people to gather and allowing dining in to commence."

Singapore is also ramping up its vaccination programme to protect the local population, as well as stepping up its testing and contact-tracing capabilities.

With these enhanced capabilities, Singapore will be able to relook its border control measures.

The Government has also put in place stringent protocols at airports to minimise the risk of transmission.

Once all these are in place, Singapore will be able to adjust its border controls.

Mr Gan noted that many Singaporeans and expatriates are still overseas and planning to return.

He added: "But the priority now is to ensure that the local situation is stable, and we are able to proceed with this phase three (heightened alert) opening in a safe way. And then after that, then we will have more capacity to talk about adjusting our border measures."

By Linette Lai, Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2021

The recent spate of racist incidents captured on video are a reminder that Singapore's multiracialism cannot be taken for granted, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday.

While pandemic-related stresses may cause frictions to flare up at times, Singaporeans have to remember that they live in a multiracial society and must keep working to strengthen cohesion, he added.

"It is like a vaccination - to vaccinate us against anti-racial sentiments," he said. "We need to continue to work with one another. And fundamentally, the virus does not recognise language, religion or race."

He was responding to a question at a virtual news conference where he was asked about these incidents and how the Covid-19 pandemic may have contributed to them.

In one viral video, Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer Tan Boon Lee is seen berating ice cream store owner Dave Parkash, who is of Indian and Filipino parentage and was with his girlfriend. Mr Tan had, among other things, told Mr Parkash that it was a disgrace for a Chinese woman and an Indian man to be dating.

In another video, a Chinese woman is seen banging loudly on a gong as her neighbour, an Indian man, rings a bell as part of his Hindu prayer routine.

Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said: "Each time we see something like that happening, I think we should take a stand - make it very clear that this does not represent us, and we do not condone any such acts of racism or xenophobia."

He pointed out that the pandemic has also put on display the best of the Singapore spirit, with many people going the extra mile to help those in need, regardless of their race or religion.

Such incidents truly demonstrate Singaporeans'"solidarity and unity with one another", Mr Wong said.

"We should have confidence and faith that as we emerge through this pandemic, we will emerge stronger, better and more united," he added.

Weighing in on the topic, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said Singaporeans' ability to have trust and confidence in one another, despite their differences, is the "most important antibody" any society can have to fight a crisis.

Amid the pandemic, "we must remember this fundamental DNA that Singaporeans share with each other, of trust, of confidence in each other, that we have come so far from far worse crises to where we are today", Mr Ong said.

"So, continue to keep that unity and resilience. Keep that trust - that is the main antibody to fight against the pandemic."

By Timothy Goh, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2021

As Covid-19 becomes endemic around the world, the focus in Singapore will shift from how many cases there are each day, and more to the clinical condition of these cases.

Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said yesterday that in such a scenario, "it is no longer about going after each and every infected case".

He explained that even if a person were to be infected despite being vaccinated, the infection will likely be very mild or even asymptomatic.

"So, we will need a different protocol for such cases," Mr Wong said at a virtual news conference by the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19, which he co-chairs.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, his fellow co-chair, said such a shift is already happening, with the authorities looking at the clinical condition of people infected here.

This means, for instance, examining how many people need oxygen due to the severity of their condition, and how many are in the intensive care unit.

The ministers were responding to a question about Singapore's Covid-19 strategy in the long term when the virus is endemic - meaning it has settled in a certain population in a geographical region and continues to persist.

Some examples of endemic diseases here include influenza, dengue, and hand, foot and mouth disease. This is a lower intensity level than a pandemic, which is the current situation as the coronavirus spreads across the world on a scale and at a speed that are unprecedented.

Mr Wong said it is "very likely" that Covid-19 will never go away.

He added that Singapore is developing a strategy to deal with Covid-19 being endemic, although it is still too early to paint a full picture of what this might look like.

However, he noted that there will likely be several components to life in this new normal.

First, high vaccination rates will be essential. This means not only getting people here vaccinated with their first and second doses, said Mr Wong, but also probably taking booster shots in the future.

For this to happen, Singapore needs a "proper and comprehensive vaccination programme", which the authorities are already working out, he added.

Second, better medical treatments for Covid-19 may be available.

This will give the authorities greater assurance that even if infections were to occur despite vaccination, or on the rare occasions where there are serious illnesses, treatments are available and people can recover, said Mr Wong.

Third, border restrictions will likely be eased, but more risk-based and targeted precautions will need to be in place, taking into account the overall infection situation in other countries as well as the vaccination status of travellers.

Mr Ong said more focus will be placed on the capabilities Singapore has in suppressing clusters, such as testing and quarantining cases.

Mr Wong said: "We will take more aggressive localised actions, and we will try our very best to avoid having to impose general nationwide restrictions like another circuit breaker.

"We think that is the way to live with the virus while enabling most activities to resume."