Singapore further tightens movement restrictions, stops short of lockdown

Capacity at public facilities and social gatherings in Singapore will be reduced between May 8 and 30 alongside closures of high-risk facilities such as indoor fitness facilities as the city-state further tightens Covid-19 safety measures to counter a rising trend in community infections.

Only five people will be allowed to gather this month, reduced from previous groups of eight. This will impact group dining at F&B outlets.

Singapore reinstates stricter crowd controls and movement restrictions for May amid spike in community infections

Operating capacity will be reduced from 65 per cent to 50 per cent at museums and public libraries, while companies must ensure that no more than 50 per cent of employees are at the workplace at any time, down from the current 75 per cent allowed capacity.

To minimise the likelihood of large cluster formations, the Singapore Ministry of Health will cut event sizes and require pre-event testing for events of certain sizes. This will impact live performances, pilots of B2B events as well as social and religious events.

Pre-event testing will be required for solemnisation celebrations involving more than 50 attendees. Wedding receptions may also proceed with up to 250 attendees in total for the entire event, in zones or timeslots of up to 50 attendees each.

Tour groups will also be capped at 20 participants, down from 50.

Co-chair of Singapore’s Covid-19 multi-ministry task force, Lawrence Wong, said at a press conference on May 4 that while the latest measures were not a lockdown, he did not rule out the possibility of taking such a tough measure should the situation worsen.

“If new unlinked cases continue to emerge in the coming days and weeks, then certainly, we will not hesitate to take even more stringent measures, even the possibility of having to enter another circuit breaker (lockdown) down the road,” he said.

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