Singapore warns of ‘potentially big’ wave of Omicron infections as it tightens rules for unvaccinated

Unjabbed people, already blocked from malls, cinemas and libraries, will also be barred from hotels, indoor sports facilities and funerals from February

Move, which comes amid expanded booster programme, is pre-emptive. But minister Ong Ye Kung warns city must ‘learn to live with Omicron as we have with Delta’

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Pedestrians in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:43pm, 14 Dec 2021Updated: 10:48am, 16 Dec 2021

Singapore on Tuesday said it would tighten its rules governing unvaccinated residents, with officials describing the measure as a pre-emptive step to guard against a “potentially big” wave of infections.

As of Tuesday, the city state had 16 cases linked to the Omicron variant that was first documented in South Africa and is believed to be more transmissible. All of these cases are imported except for two, both of whom are airport staff.

While there was no sign of community transmission, trade minister Gan Kim Yong, who co-heads a government Covid-19 task force, said it was “only a matter of time before this happens”.

“We must therefore prepare ourselves for such a scenario,” he said.

Health minister Ong Ye Kung warned there could be a “potentially big wave” of Omicron infections, adding that it was not realistic to keep the variant out even if Singapore shut its borders completely.

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