Unvaccinated Individuals Can Join 5-Pax Dine-Ins Only After Taking A Swab Test
With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, many are concerned about the new guidelines. Since unvaccinated folks may not be able to enjoy all the privileges freely, some may try to find loopholes especially when it comes to dine-ins.
Perhaps aware of some confusion about the measures, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung took to Facebook to answer some of the general questions and concerns.
Swab test for unvaccinated people to dine in groups of 5
In light of the recent easing of Covid-19 restrictions, many may still require some time to adjust to the new rules. To help them understand the regulations better, Mr Ong addressed some FAQs in a Facebook post on Wednesday (11 Aug).
He also warned against using someone else’s vaccination certificate to cheat the system. Apparently, the authorities are aware of the loophole and will severely penalise offenders.
In case you’re wondering what we may be referring to, radio DJ duo Muttons shared an example in a tweet:
Instead of taking the illegal route, Mr Ong recommended unvaccinated individuals to take the Pre-Event Test (PET) at an MOH-approved test provider before dining in. This costs about $20 and will only be valid for 24 hours.
However, Mr Ong cautioned that the test only shows that one is Covid-19-free and will not protect them from the virus.
Families with children below 12 meanwhile will be able to dine in only if they are from the same household. Similarly, they will have to keep to no more than 5 people per table.
Novavax supplies will arrive by this year
Though most Singapore residents may have already received their vaccine jabs, some may be unable to due to health concerns.
Those with allergic reactions after taking the first dose will thus be invited to take Sinovac. They will then have to wait 2 weeks after their second dose to be fully vaccinated.
Individuals who have yet to receive the Sinovac invitation can head down to any vaccination centre to verify their allergy to the first dose.
However, those who may not want to take Sinovac can wait for Novavax. According to Mr Ong, Singapore has secured the alternative vaccine which will be arriving by this year.
Individuals who took vaccination overseas to present records
As for folks who have taken their vaccination overseas, they can present their overseas vaccination records and get a serology test.
If antibodies are found through the test, all overseas vaccination records will be uploaded into HealthHub and TraceTogether app. But note that this differs across the various vaccine types.
The update will take around 2 days once the medical provider has submitted the details into the National Immunisation Registry for those who took the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty or Moderna vaccines.
Individuals who have taken any other vaccines stated on the World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Use Listing (EUL) will have to use to HealthHub for now. Vaccines include AstraZeneca, Janssen, Sinopharm, and Sinovac. The authorities are working to upload information onto the TraceTogether app by the end of August.
Take note of the latest Covid-19 guidelines
Hopefully with this post, many would have their questions answered. Those who need a detailed version of the guidelines may visit MOH’s latest press release.
Since the authorities have already made the guidelines more flexible, we hope that everyone will abide by them.
Despite the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, it is still crucial to practise safe distancing measures to protect you and your loved ones.
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Featured image adapted from Nick Karvounis on Unsplash.
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