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Singapore: Rules on gatherings relaxed, with up to 5 allowed from June 14; facials, saunas can resume
SINGAPORE will permit groups of up to five people to gather while allowing capacity limits at events and attractions to increase from June 14, as the country moves into what has been labelled “Phase 3 (Heightened Alert)”.
Each household can also receive up to five distinct visitors per day, from two people currently, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).
The operating capacity at attractions, cruises, museums and public libraries will be increased to 50 per cent, up from 25 per cent under the current Phase 2 (Heightened Alert).
The capacity for cinemas, business events, live performances, religious congregations and marriage solemnisations will also be increased to 250 with pre-event testing, MOH said.
Pre-event testing will not be required for events with 50 or fewer attendees, MOH said.
Unmasking and singing or playing of wind instruments at live performances remain prohibited, however, and may only resume from June 21.
Personal care and appearance services that require masks to be removed, including facials and saunas, will also be allowed to resume.
The relaxation of restrictions follows a clampdown by the authorities following a new wave of infections seeded by the delta variant, which was first detected in and has badly affected India.
Singapore’s Covid-19 multi-ministry taskforce co-chair Lawrence Wong told reporters they took a targeted approach in identifying and managing key areas of risk instead of going into a lockdown like the circuit breaker last year.
This includes aggressive testing, extensive contact tracing and accelerated vaccination, he said.
“This strategy has proven to be effective in bringing cases down and in controlling the spread. So now, we are able to exit Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) and resume more activities and we will do so in a controlled manner and in two stages,” he said.
If the situation remains under control, restrictions are set to be further relaxed from June 21.
Source: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/rules-on-gatherings-relaxed-with-up-to-5-allowed-from-june-14-facials-saunas-can