Singapore set to remove nearly all Covid-19 measures
Singapore is to remove from Tuesday (April 26) all Covid-19 test requirements for fully-vaccinated visitors, the local authorities announced on Friday. On-arrival tests have been waived since April 1, as the city-state seeks to return to pre-Covid living.
Singapore had already dropped most restrictions for inoculated travellers, and people can now arrive there without having to undergo quarantine or have a Covid-19 test on arrival.
According to Friday’s announcement, social gatherings will no longer be limited to 10 people, and fully vaccinated travellers will not need to take Covid-19 tests before departure.
“Things continue to look up for us. Our social resilience is strong and now we are in a comfortable position. We can therefore afford to take further steps to restore pre Covid-19 normalcy,” Ong Ye Kung, Singapore’s health minister, said in a press conference. “We will step down but not dismantle our measures completely,” he added.
Singapore has a casino duopoly, split between Marina Bay Sands, run by a unit of United States-based Las Vegas Sands Corp, and Resorts World Sentosa, operated by Genting Singapore Ltd.
Brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd suggested in a recent note that the Marina Bay Sands complex was likely to return to pre-pandemic levels of business over the next two years, after the city-state entered its ‘living with Covid-19’ phase.
In mid-April, nightlife businesses such as clubs and karaoke establishments were allowed to reopen after about two years of closure.
Face masks will continue to be required indoors, including on public transportation, and optional outdoors.
From Tuesday, social gatherings will no longer be limited to 10 people, all workers can return to their workplaces, and most larger events spaces can be used at 100 percent of their capacity. The city-state will also step down the use of contact tracing measures.
The 2022 edition for casino industry trade fair and conference Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia is to take place in Singapore, from August 24 to 26. G2E Asia had been held annually in Macau since 2007 and until 2019. The 2020 and 2021 in-person editions of the event were cancelled. Macau still has in place several travel restrictions.
Singapore reported 2,044 cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, with infections continuing to fall from record numbers in late February.
About 92 percent of Singapore’s population has completed the primary vaccination series as of Saturday, while 73 percent has received boosters, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
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