After more than 2 years of living with the pandemic, the everchanging Covid-19 rules here in Singapore can be quite confusing.
On Wednesday (16 Feb), the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that they are now simplifying these rules.
This includes safe management measures (SMMs), protocols, border measures, and testing requirements.
Amongst the changes, safe distancing will no longer be mandatory in all mask-on settings. Workplace gatherings can also resume in groups of up to 5.
In a Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF) press conference today (16 Feb), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that over the past 2 years, rules have accumulated and become “unwieldy”.
Authorities thus hope that by streamlining these rules, Singapore will be in a better position to open up when the time comes.
However, Minister Ong said Singapore cannot ease restrictions yet. As of now, cases are still rising, as we recorded our largest single-day spike yesterday (15 Feb) with a total of 19,420 infections.
Going by the Omicron transmission wave in other countries, Singapore may see cases coming down in a few weeks, perhaps even dramatically.
According to The Straits Times (ST), Minister Ong posits that by then, we will be in a position to ease travel rules and SMMs.
As for “bolder moves” like increasing gathering sizes, fellow MTF co-chair Gan Kim Yong said they will consider these when the Omicron wave is over.
Singapore will soon be changing our Covid-19 to make them easier to understand, announced MOH on Wednesday (16 Feb).
Our revised SMMs will now be focused on the following 5 areas:
From 25 Feb, households can hold more than one 5-pax gathering a day. Previously, only 1 such gathering was allowed a day.
Social gatherings at workplaces will also be allowed to resume.
While safe distancing is encouraged in most cases, it will no longer be mandatory in settings where everyone has their masks on. Mask-wearing, however, remains compulsory.
In situations where people have their masks off, everyone has to keep 1 metre apart.
In addition, the rules governing Covid-19 patients and close contacts have also been simplified to ease hospital loads.
From Wednesday (16 Feb), all Covid-19 patients between 3-69 years of age will be managed by their primary care doctors.
Close contacts of Omicron cases meanwhile will only have to monitor their health for 5 days instead of 7 days.
As for rostered routine testing, from Friday (18 Feb), this will not be mandatory for most workers.
It will only be a requirement for staff in healthcare, eldercare, and preschool sectors, who work with vulnerable individuals.
Besides the aforementioned changes, Singapore is also simplifying our travel categories and relaxing border measures from 21 Feb.
Singapore will further be expanding our vaccinated travel lane (VTL) scheme to include more countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines.
Minister Ong said that these new rules mean that practices that do not make much of a difference to the pandemic have been forgone.
For a long time, Singaporeans’ main gripe with the Covid-19 rules was its everchanging and confusing nature.
Hopefully, these simplifications will be appreciated by many as the rules become easier to understand and follow.
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Featured image by MS News.
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