Singapore ― Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday (Sept 24) that the new measures announced by the multi-ministry taskforce (MTF) for Covid-19 should buy the country more time to deliver booster shots to people and vaccinate the remaining population.
On Friday, the MTF, along with the Ministry of Health (MOH), revealed that if infections continue at its current trajectory, “we can expect to reach a daily count of 3,200 and beyond within the next two weeks.”
As a result, stricter restrictions were imposed. They will take place beginning Monday (Sept 27) until Oct 24, 2021.
Permissible group sizes for social gatherings will be reduced from a maximum of five persons to two persons.
At the same time, the number of unique visitors per household will be reduced to two per day.
Work from home will be the default for employees able to do so, and home-based learning will also be extended until Oct 7, 2021.
Groups of up to 2 persons, down from the current limit of five persons, will be allowed to dine-in at regular F&B establishments if all diners are fully vaccinated.
The new measures should “help us get safely to being a Covid-19 resilient nation,” said Mr Lee in a Facebook post on Friday.
He noted that the decision aims to protect the capacity of the healthcare system.
“We are ramping up our operations to support fully vaccinated Covid-19 cases who recover at home,” said Mr Lee.
He assured the public that the government was supporting businesses affected by the new restrictions.
Meanwhile, the new Community Treatment Facilities (CTF) will provide closer monitoring and management of stable patients with co-morbidities and who are otherwise asymptomatic or have no symptoms.
“By placing more Covid-19 patients in the CTFs, we will free up hospital beds for more serious cases,” he added.
Mr Lee said, “The new measures will give us more time to deliver booster shots to people and vaccinate those still not vaccinated.”
As the Covid-19 pandemic develops, he noted that the country has to adapt its response to the virus.
“I know the changes can be confusing and unsettling, but please bear with us. We will work closely with you to protect all our families.” /TISG
Read related: Public reacts to stricter COVID-19 measures: ‘All these could have been done 2-3 weeks ago’
Public reacts to stricter COVID-19 measures: ‘All these could have been done 2-3 weeks ago’
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