The Singapore government has announced that the requirement to wear masks indoors will be lifted from next Monday (29 August) and that masks need only be worn in medical facilities and on public transport. It also announced that from the same day visitors will no longer be required to be vaccinated when entering the country.
The Singapore government announced in April that masks would not be required to be worn outdoors, and after four months of discussion, the government has decided to relax the mask rule again.
Officials from Singapore’s health department said, “From 29 August, only those in medical facilities and using public transport need to wear a mask. The public can choose whether to wear a mask when taking school buses and cabs.”
At the same time, Singapore’s health department also announced that from Monday unvaccinated visitors will be allowed to enter the country as long as they present a negative nucleic acid test conducted within the previous two days, with the 7-day home quarantine requirement now scrapped. However, visitors who are unvaccinated will be required to take out travel insurance which provides cover for COVID.
A Singapore health department statement said, “As of 23 August, there were 2,700 confirmed daily cases, and the average number of confirmed cases in seven days has dropped significantly, as have the number of hospitalizations and treatments.”