Social Gathering may increase after 50% population complete vaccination
Singapore may allow people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to social gathering in groups of up to eight instead of five, as it considers differentiated measures for those who received the jab under the national vaccination programme.
Such measures may be allowed when Singapore reaches an “important milestone” in its vaccination programme – when 50 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
This will allow individuals who have been fully vaccinated under the national vaccination programme to participate in more community and economic activities.
For activities and venues such as cinemas, congregational worship, MICE events and wedding solemnisations, authorities could allow a doubling in the group size – up to 500 people – if they are attended by fully vaccinated people.
Safe Management Measures in Phase 3 from 12 July 2021
Group sizes at Food & Beverage (F&B) establishments
Groups of up to 5 persons will be able to dine-in at F&B establishments. This is aligned with the social gathering group size allowed today. Dining-in remains a higher-risk activity because many people are unmasked and in close proximity with one another. Hence entertainment at F&B establishments, e.g. live entertainment, recorded music, and videos/TV screening, will continue to be prohibited in order to reduce the expulsion of droplets from individuals having to raise their voices over the entertainment. Patrons are reminded to adhere to all other SMMs, e.g. social distancing and keeping masks on at all times except when eating or drinking.
Resumption of wedding receptions.
Wedding receptions may resume from 12 July 2021, with no more than 250 persons allowed with Pre-Event Testing (PET). For wedding receptions with 50 persons or less, PET will be required for the wedding party only. As wedding receptions are higher-risk activities where attendees tend to socialise more and over a longer period of time, attendees must adhere to all other SMMs to reduce the risk of transmission. Refer to MSF’s advisory for further details.
Indoor high-intensity/ mask-off sports/ exercise activities.
Gyms and fitness studios may conduct indoor mask-off sports/ exercise activities in group sizes of up to 5 persons, similar to indoor mask-on and outdoor activities. Sports and exercise classes can continue in groups of no more than 5 persons, in classes of up to 50 persons including the instructor, or the capacity limit of the venue, whichever is lower. SportSG will release more details on this.
Social gatherings at the workplace.
Work-from-home will continue to remain the default arrangement so as to reduce overall interaction within workplaces and on public transport. Employers are reminded to ensure the practice continues, and for employees that need to come to the workplace, to stagger their start times and implement flexible working hours. Social and recreational gatherings at the workplace will be allowed but must be limited to a total size of no more than 5 persons in line with the broader community rules.
Further Changes Upon 50% of the Population Completing Vaccination.
As Singapore’s vaccination coverage continues to increase, we will introduce differentiated SMMs for vaccinated persons. This will allow individuals who have been fully vaccinated under the national vaccination programme to participate in more community and economic activities. When more people are vaccinated, it reduces the risk of spread from an infected person to another, in particular a non-vaccinated person who is more vulnerable to the disease.
In particular, we are considering the following measures if the situation continues to be stable and when at least half of the population has completed the full vaccination regimen, which is expected to be around end-July 2021:
a. Social gathering group sizes may increase to 8 persons;
b. For activities/venues such as cinemas, congregational worship, MICE events, live performances, spectator sports and wedding solemnizations, we could allow a doubling in the group size if they are attended by fully vaccinated persons1, i.e. up to 500 persons may be allowed;
c. For higher-risk, indoor mask-off activities (e.g. F&B dine-in), we could differentiate the guidelines such that a group size of up to 8 persons may be allowed only for fully vaccinated persons. Otherwise, the group size will remain at 5 persons;
d. Work-from-home will continue to remain the default, but more may be allowed to return to the workplace based on the percentage of total employees who are fully vaccinated.
