Singapore to shed outdoor mask mandate, remove travel curbs so it’s ‘almost like before Covid-19’
- The city state’s most significant easing of Covid-19 curbs will take effect next Tuesday, with quarantine-free entry for vaccinated travellers from April 1
- PM Lee Hsien Loong said the changes ‘stop short of a complete opening up’ – flagging the possibility of ‘more aggressive and dangerous’ variants in future
Most restrictions for travellers will also be lifted, the prime minister said in a televised address, with ministers later elaborating that travellers who are vaccinated would be able to enter quarantine-free from April 1 with on-arrival tests dropped.
Prime Minister Lee said the moves signified the country’s plan to “take a decisive step forward towards living with Covid-19”. Among the key changes announced was the removal of the outdoor mask mandate first imposed in April 2020 when Singapore entered into a two-month lockdown.
It will still be compulsory to wear masks in indoor public areas. People will also be allowed to socialise in groups of 10, from the current five.
“The Omicron wave has crested, and is now subsiding. With many of us already exposed to the virus and recovered, our population has stronger immunity,” Lee said.