SINGAPORE — Singapore’s prime minister said Thursday that the country would lift many of its coronavirus restrictions, calling it “a decisive step forward toward living with Covid-19.”
In a speech to the nation, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the recent surge of cases caused by a highly transmissible Omicron subvariant was now “well under control,” and cited Singapore’s high vaccination rate as part of the reason for the easing. About 95 percent of those eligible are fully vaccinated, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
Singapore, with a population of around 5.7 million, is averaging about 9,800 cases a day, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, but relatively few cases have been severe enough to require oxygen or intensive care. Mr. Lee said that over the past two weeks, cases have been falling.
The easing of restrictions will start Tuesday. Masks will be optional outdoors and 10 people will be allowed to dine together, up from five.
Starting April 1, all vaccinated travelers and children ages 12 and under will be able to enter Singapore with just a test before departure. Previously, travelers could take only designated flights to enter Singapore with quarantining and were required to take an antigen rapid test within 24 hours of arrival.
Mr. Lee said traveling would be “almost like before Covid-19.” The government said it would monitor the local and global Covid situations and consider removing the pre-departure test requirement in the coming weeks.
“These domestic and cross-border changes represent a major step toward living with Covid-19,” Mr. Lee said. “But they stop short of a complete opening up. We remain watchful because Covid-19 may yet bring further surprises.”
The prime minister said his government was sticking to its careful strategy, “which has served us well over the past two years.” He noted that other countries had adopted a “Freedom Day” approach and “declared the pandemic over, relaxed all restrictions at once.” (England lifted nearly all of its coronavirus restrictions in July in what some of the news media referred to as “Freedom Day.”)
“Now, they are anxiously watching their infection and mortality numbers rising rapidly again,” Mr. Lee said.
People without masks would still have to maintain a “safe” distance of one meter from one another, he said.
Starting Tuesday, people will no longer have to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants but will be subject to random spot checks. Live performances can resume, and alcohol can again be sold after 10:30 p.m.
“After this major step, we will wait awhile to let the situation stabilize,” Mr. Lee said. “If all goes well, we will ease up further.”