Tourists wearing face masks visit the Merlion Park in Singapore on March 24, 2022. Singapore will further relax its COVID-19 restrictions as the number of infected cases has declined, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)
SINGAPORE, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Singapore will further relax its COVID-19 restrictions as the number of infected cases has declined, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday.
"Our fight against COVID-19 has reached a major turning point and we will be making a decisive move towards living with COVID-19", Lee said in a live address broadcast both on TV and online.
According to Lee, the new safe management measures, which will take effect from Tuesday, include doubling group size to 10 persons from the current five, and increasing the capacity limit for larger events and settings.
Up to 75 percent of employees will be allowed to return to workplaces. Wearing masks outdoors will be made optional.
As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is "well under control," Singapore will "substantially" ease up cross-border traveling by streamlining testing and quarantine requirements and lifting "most of the restrictions for fully-vaccinated visitors entering Singapore," said Lee.
These changes will give a boost to businesses, particularly the tourism sector, and also help Singapore reclaim its position as a business and aviation hub, he added.
However, to avoid the infection number from rising again, the prime minister said Singapore will continue its measured approach that has been in place for over two years, and further relaxation on restrictions will be considered if the epidemic situation keeps stabilizing.
According to statistics released by the Ministry of Health, Singapore reported 8,940 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to 1.04 million. ■
A tourist wearing face mask visits the Merlion Park in Singapore on March 24, 2022. Singapore will further relax its COVID-19 restrictions as the number of infected cases has declined, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)
A man watches a live address broadcast about further relaxation on COVID-19 restrictions at a train station in Singapore on March 24, 2022. Singapore will further relax its COVID-19 restrictions as the number of infected cases has declined, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)