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Dining-in at eateries will be cut to two per group for those who are not vaccinated, authorities announced at a press conference on Friday, July 16th.
Only those who are fully vaccinated can continue to dine-in in groups of five at some F&B outlets, said co-chair of Singapore’s multi-ministerial task force Gan Kim Yong.
The latest measures come amid a ‘major setback’ due to the KTV Covid-19 cluster.
The measures will last from July 19th till August 8th.
A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they have received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty or Moderna vaccines, said the health ministry in a separate press release.
Unvaccinated people with a valid negative pre-event COVID-19 test (PET) result or recovered individuals can also participate in such groups of five, the ministry said.
On Monday (July 12th), dining in groups of five had resumed as measures relaxed due to a drop in Covid-19 cases the week before.
But the latest cluster linked to KTV lounges led the government to revert the decision. As of Friday, the cluster is linked to 120 cases, making it Singapore’s largest active Covid-19 cluster.
As children below the age of 12 are not eligible for any Covid-19 vaccine under Singapore’s national vaccination programme, they are allowed to dine in with members of the same household without PET.
The health ministry said that the group sizes will remain at two people for hawker centres, food courts, and coffee shops.
Wedding receptions can continue with groups of 5
Wedding receptions can proceed with groups of five per table, without the requirement for all individuals in the group to be fully vaccinated.
The reception can comprise up to 250 people with PET in place. For 50 people, only the wedding party requires PET.
“We acknowledge that wedding couples have faced significant uncertainties over the past few months. Hence, we will allow this key life event to continue at current numbers and PET provisions, so that couples do not need to revise their wedding plans again,” the health ministry said.
Indoor high-intensity mask-off activities reduced
The spike in Covid-19 cases locally has also led authorities to reduce the group sizes for indoor high-intensity mask-off activities. Such activities can only be carried out in classes with multiple groups of two, capped at 30 persons including the instructor, without the need for testing or vaccination.
The exception for groups of five will only be when everyone in the class are fully vaccinated, or have recovered from Covid-19, among other measures.
Outdoor activities can continue in groups of no more than five persons, in classes of up to 50 persons including the instructor, subject to the venue’s capacity limit, whichever is lower.
Live performances, recorded music and videos will continue to be prohibited at F&B establishments.
Workplace social gatherings not allowed, WFH the default
Work-from-home will continue to remain the default arrangement so as to reduce overall interaction within workplaces and on public transport, the health ministry said.
“Employers are reminded to adhere to the practice. Employees who need to come to the workplace must continue to stagger their start times and observe flexible working hours,” it added.
Social and recreational gatherings at the workplace are disallowed, and work-related events such as product launches and townhalls should continue to not serve food and beverage options.
The government said that the Covid-19 vaccination programme is “ahead of schedule”, with 50 per cent of Singapore’s population to be fully vaccinated by July 25th.
As of Thursday (July 15th), about 2.5 million people, or 45 per cent of the population, have been fully vaccinated.
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Featured Image Credit: Getty Images
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