Dining in, social visits, sports activities and more can now resume
Singapore has made another significant step in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic as the authorities announced phase two of the country’s safe re-opening will commence this Friday (June 19). This comes about two weeks after Singapore exited the circuit breaker period and slowly eased into resuming activities.
As announced by the multi-ministry taskforce on May 19, there will be a three-phased approach to the resumption of services and activities. The first two weeks of June were critical as community infection rates had to remain low in order to move from phase one to phase two before the end of the month.
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Phase two means that almost the entire economy will be re-opened as retailers, F&B outlets, consumer services, sports facilities and clubs will be allowed to re-open. Shopping malls will also be fully functioning, while The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands will undergo a phased reopening. Social interactions will be allowed to resume albeit in groups of no more than five. The same rule applies to households, which may only receive up to five visitors at a time. Face masks remain compulsory in public settings.
In a media release, the Ministry of Health said: “Community infection rates have remained generally stable despite the increase in workplace activity in Phase 1 of re-opening. The incidence of cases in migrant worker dormitories has also declined, and there are no new large clusters emerging.”
Speaking at a Covid-19 virtual press conference yesterday evening, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong noted that despite the new measures, phase two should not be taken “as a signal that we can all relax”. It remains necessary to uphold all precautions and as a default, safe distancing measures must still be in place.