Singapore’s ‘living with Covid-19’ plan includes relaxed rules, quarantine-free travel from September

The city state expects 80 per cent of its 5.7 million population to be fully vaccinated by September, paving the way for quarantine-free travel, with some curbs for vaccinated people eased even earlier

Signalling that its plan to push ahead with reopening the economy is still on the cards, authorities say they have already revised health and treatment protocols for patients with mild or no symptoms

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A wet market in Singapore is cordoned off to limit entry and exit points. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:37pm, 26 Jul 2021Updated: 8:07pm, 26 Jul 2021

Tighter restrictions for fully vaccinated residents in Singapore could be eased before August 18, with quarantine-free travel on the cards in the months ahead, finance minister Lawrence Wong said on Monday.

The city state expects 80 per cent of its 5.7 million people to be fully vaccinated by September, allowing for the possibility that residents who have received two doses would not need to serve a 14-day hotel quarantine when they return from overseas. And if a review in early August finds that the virus situation is stable, Wong said the government could review some restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals, ahead of the original expiry date for the rules on August 18.

“I know the restrictions have caused much inconvenience to everyone. We seek your forbearance and understanding,” said Wong.

Wong’s remarks came as he and two other ministers leading Singapore’s management of Covid-19 briefed parliament and responded to criticism from the public over their move to reinstate coronavirus restrictions last week, just days after easing them.

Currently, people can only gather in pairs, dining out is banned and most gyms are closed.

Admitting that a recently announced “living with Covid-19” plan to treat the virus as endemic had hit speed bumps, Wong said Singapore just wanted to open up “at the correct juncture”.

While Singapore is widely considered one of the world’s success stories in managing the virus, it has battled the spread of the more contagious Delta variant for several months and suffered a setback when two new infection clusters involving karaoke lounges and a fishery port emerged in recent weeks, infecting more than 1,000 people. It is currently recording more than 100 new infections a day.