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SINGAPORE – Singapore may enter phase three of its reopening later this year, should community cases remain low as the country intensifies testing and contact tracing, the multi-ministry task force said. that handles Covid-19.
As part of phase three, the size of out-of-home gatherings could be increased from five to eight people. Similarly, eight visitors could be allowed on home visits, allowing larger families to congregate.
Additionally, capacity limits can be increased in venues such as museums, places of worship, and wedding receptions, and multiple 50-person zones are allowed.
But to enter phase three, Singapore will have to keep its guard up and meet several key conditions, Education Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday (October 20), laying out the country’s roadmap to the final phase. of its reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic. .
First, Singaporeans will still have to adhere to safe management measures, including small groups, safe distancing, and exercising social responsibility.
This will be followed by tests on a larger scale to allow more activities to resume. For starters, a pilot scheme will see people tested for Covid-19 before they are allowed to attend events. Rapid tests with less precision will be used for these events, which means that safe handling measures are still needed and false positives could result.
This pilot program will be adjusted and expanded if successful.
Lastly, more places will require people to sign up for SafeEntry using the TraceTogether app or tokens, in an attempt to strengthen Singapore’s contact tracing regime.
All these measures will be implemented progressively, depending on the situation both nationally and globally, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong.
However, nightlife settings considered higher risk, such as bars, karaoke rooms and nightclubs, are likely to remain closed even at the beginning of phase three.
The Health Ministry added in a separate statement that phase three will not mean a return to the pre-coronavirus world.
“It will involve new ways of working and living, until the world has the virus under strict control,” he said, adding that Singaporeans should be prepared to stay in phase three for an extended period, potentially more than a year.
Phase three won’t be static either, he said. If more facilitators can be put in place, there is scope for further reopening and scaling-up of activities during that phase.
Mr. Wong, who along with Mr. Gan co-chairs the multi-ministerial task force addressing Covid-19 in Singapore, compared the local situation to a fire that has burned to embers but has not been extinguished by full.
Every relaxation of the rules adds fuel to these embers, he said, at the risk of the fire breaking out again.
The key is to combine further relaxation of measures with additional safeguards, such as expanded testing and follow-up, he said.
“When can these steps be taken? That is the big question. The answer is (that) it really depends on all of us,” Wong said.
If Singaporeans cooperate with existing measures and keep the transmission rate low, there is a chance that Singapore could enter phase three before the end of this year. But if new clusters emerge, the timeline may have to be delayed, he said.
He stressed that the fight is far from over, with countries around the world experiencing spikes in the number of virus cases.
“The hope for a vaccine is there; there are promising candidates, but the path to distributing a safe and effective vaccine to billions of people around the world will take a long time,” he added.
“We need to prepare for a long fight. This is not something we can get over in a month or two. We really have to be prepared for the long term and continue our vigilant and disciplined approach to allow us to progressively reopen and resume activities safely.” .
Even as Singapore enters phase three, they must continue to keep their guard up, Gan stressed.
“Phase three is not a declaration of victory, and we should all be celebrating and forgetting about the measures,” he said. “It is a milestone, that we are saying that we have now implemented reasonable measures and safeguards, and that we must continue to maintain these safeguards.”
Why group sizes will be limited to eight in phase three
When asked how the task force reached a limit of eight people for meetings and home visits, Gan replied that safe distancing was a concern.
The task force had initially considered raising the limit to 10 instead of eight, he said.
But in public places, like restaurants and movie theaters, there should still be safe distancing measures.
Having groups of 10 would make it harder for clients to maintain a certain distance from each other, he said.
“We think going from five to eight is probably a reasonable increase,” he added, noting that a group size of eight is more manageable.
“We’ll see how we can modify it further as time goes on.”
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