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Coronavirus: Singapore eases isolation rules for Omicron cases; Australia’s New South Wales tightens rules to stem spike in cases

  • Instead of being isolated in dedicated facilities by default, people infected with Omicron will recover at home or be treated at community care facilities
  • New South Wales’ health minister says ‘everyone in the state’ could get omicron at some point as infections spike

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People wearing face masks walk along the Orchard Road shopping area in Singapore. Photo: AP
Singapore will cease sending people infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant to dedicated isolation facilities, and allow them to isolate at home or be treated in a community care facility instead, the Health Ministry said.
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“International evidence indicates that the Omicron variant is likely to be more transmissible but less severe than the Delta variant, and that vaccines, especially boosters, retain substantial protection against hospitalisations caused by Omicron,” the ministry said late on Sunday night.

A visitor to a market in Singapore checks in using a ‘Trace Together’ contact-tracing token earlier this month. Photo: Bloomberg
A visitor to a market in Singapore checks in using a ‘Trace Together’ contact-tracing token earlier this month. Photo: Bloomberg

“Given the transmissibility of omicron and the open nature of our society, it is inevitable that omicron will spread in our community,” said ministry.

As such, close contacts of those confirmed to have the variant will receive a seven-day health risk warning instead of being quarantined for for 10 days. Those currently being quarantined will be progressively discharged over the next few days – but must self-test daily before leaving their homes.

As of Saturday, Singapore had detected 546 confirmed Omicron cases – 443 imported and 103 local, the ministry said.

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