The Multi-Ministry Task Force said in a press conference that the number of fully vaccinated people allowed to dine in at restaurants and F&B outlets will be increased to 5 fully vaccinated people from Monday (22 November) onwards.
Social gatherings for all will be increased to 5 persons as well, with households allowed to receive 5 visitors per day.
The new dining-in easement will become effective as long as the F&B outlets can check the vaccination statuses of the customers – if not, group sizes will remain limited to 2.
Singapore in better position
Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said that Singaproe is in a better position to ease measures, with the overall Covid-19 situation remaining stable.
The number of severe cases is also stable, with the current group of tightened measures due to be relaxed on Monday.
However, he did urge those who were unvaccinated to remain at home as much as they can, so as to protect themselves.
Those who visit homes with unvaccinated persons are advised to test themselves before visiting.
MOH said that households should only accept vaccinated guests to avoid exposure to the unvaccinated.
Gan cautioned against opening up more quickly, saying that we must do so in a “very careful and step-by-step manner”.
He reiterated that the task force will observe the current relaxation of the restrictions and see how it goes before relaxing them further.
Window of opportunity
Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung said that now is a “valuable window of opportunity” for the measures to be relaxed, and this will let people ease into the festive season instead of taking a risk on a sudden case-spike.
Although the easing of the restrictions may likely result in more daily cases due to increased social interactions, an increasing number of people getting the booster shots coupled with the vaccination differentiated measures will help to control the impact on our healthcare system.
Other measures relaxation
Other restrictions to be eased from Monday include weddings and solemnizations.
The vaccination differentiated measures will also be expanded to include hospitals and nursing homes – where visitors will only be allowed entry if they are vaccinated unless either side has a medical exemption.
In the case of one party not being fully vaccinated, the visits will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and only allowed under exceptional circumstances.
Persons who are medically ineligible to get vaccinated will also be able to enter venues and/or participate in activities where vaccination would’ve been otherwise required previously.
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