Easing of COVID-19 Restrictions to be Postponed Later As Local COVID-19 Cases Remain High

2022-03-05 , 10:53 am

On 16 February 2022, the Multi-Ministry Task Force (MTF) announced that COVID-19 measures will be eased on 25 Feb 2022.

But as COVID-19 has shown us again and again, nothing is set in stone.

So when it was announced on 24 Feb that the easing of restrictions will be postponed, no one except a certain blue cat was surprised.

Well, for those who are eagerly awaiting the easing of measures so that you can play musical chairs with your friends, I’ve got some bad news for you.

Easing of COVID-19 Restrictions to be Postponed Later As Local COVID-19 Cases Remain High

On 4 March 2022, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a press statement that the easing of COVID-19 restrictions will be postponed further.

The easing of safe management measures announced on 16 Feb 2022 is streamlining in nature and isn’t expected to significantly impact transmission risk or the epidemic situation.

Nonetheless, they’ve decided to postpone it for its healthcare workers who are still under significant pressure.

MOH said that the number of daily local cases remained high over the past week, as well as the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalised.

As of 1 March 2022, there are 1,726 COVID-19 patients who had to be hospitalised, with 242 requiring oxygen supplementation. 53 COVID-19 cases are in the ICU.

Singapore’s healthcare workers, MOH says, are still under significant pressure.

MOH Will Continue Monitoring The Situation

It’s not all bad news, however; over the past two days, the weekly infection growth rate has dropped below one.

This means that the current epidemic wave has peaked, which means we might just see a drop in the number of daily local cases soon.

The ministry pledged to continue monitoring the situation and, hopefully, be able to implement the streamlining of safe management measures once the situation gets better.

The Previously Announced Streamlined Safety Measures

Back on 16 Feb, MOH had announced the relaxation and simplification of the COVID-19 Safety Management Measures (SMM).

The measures being dialled down was a slow and steady step towards returning back to normalcy, but the Omicron Variant has decided to throw a wrench in things.

The streamlined SMMs originally involved:

You’re still required to wear masks outside but safe distancing measures don’t apply when masks are on. When dining at restaurants without masks, the one-metre social distancing rule still applies (has already been applied).
For social gatherings, the maximum capacity remains at five, though for households, it has changed from only being able to receive five visitors per day to five visitors at any time.
50% of the employees are allowed to return to workspaces (has already been applied).
Sports events can be carried out with up to 30 fully vaccinated individuals at supervised and/or approved facilities.
Event size limits for weddings, religious services, and business events will be lifted on 4 March.

The main and most important changes involve allowing social gatherings at workplaces again, and resuming sports events, albeit at a smaller and contained level.

Easing of COVID-19 Restrictions to be Postponed Later As Local COVID-19 Cases Remain High

Easing of COVID-19 Restrictions to be Postponed Later As Local COVID-19 Cases Remain High

MOH Will Continue Monitoring The Situation

The Previously Announced Streamlined Safety Measures

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