As Singapore gradually eases restrictions after ‘Circuit Breaker’, life won’t quite go back to normal yet.
We’ll move into Phase One of our safe re-opening on 2 Jun, and that will include allowing people to visit their loved ones in the hospitals again, as this was banned during the ‘Circuit Breaker’.
However, as with most easing measures, the restrictions won’t totally disappear — only one visitor will be allowed at a time, and he or she must be from the same household or one other household.
In a press release on Friday (22 May) night, the Ministry of Health (MOH) detailed the new restrictions on hospital visits to be added in Phase One.
These measures are to avoid too many people gathering at hospitals, it said, and protect the patients, who are more vulnerable to infection.
Hence, besides allowing just one visitor at a time from the same household or one other household, only five of these visitors will be allowed per patient.
Additionally, these visitors must be pre-registered with the hospital, MOH said.
More measures may also be introduced in future, or measures may be adjusted, depending on whether they are deemed necessary to decrease the chances of infection.
MOH said it would share these plans with healthcare professionals.
In the meantime, the ministry advises us to minimise physical visits. All staff in healthcare establishments will wear masks and ensure that equipment and premises are cleaned regularly.
MOH also advised patients and caregivers to wear a mask at all times and keep good personal hygiene when they seek treatment at healthcare establishments.
But those who have loved ones and friends in hospital need not fret, as these restrictions won’t be around forever.
If Singapore’s infection rates of Covid-19 stay “low and stable”, which includes community transmission and dormitory infections, we’ll move to Phase Two.
That means more relatives and friends might be allowed to visit patients in hospital, subject to some restrictions on the number of visitors.
That means if you want to want to visit your loved ones and friends in hospital again, we’ll have to keep community transmissions of Covid-19 down.
While there’s not much the ordinary person can about dorm transmissions, we can pay our part by staying home as much as possible, wearing a mask when outdoors and keeping a safe distance from others.
We’ll look forward to life getting back to normal one day, but in the meantime please keep our hospital visits to a minimum.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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