Singapore to enter next phase of reopening

Passengers at Singapore's Changi Airport. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Given a drop in COVID-19 cases, Singapore has decided to end the Stabilisation Phase that started on September 27 following a virus resurgence, and move into the next phase of reopening.

The Stabilisation Phase will end on November 21 to enable the country to return to the Transition Phase with several social distancing measures eased, Singapore’s COVID-19 Multi-Ministry Taskforce announced at a press conference on November 20.

Singapore began conducting a four-phase roadmap to live with the coronavirus on August 10, with the first stage expected to last in just a month. A set of measure adjustments were introduced during the first stage, including allowing fully vaccinated individuals to meet in groups of up to five and the relaxation of rules for worshipping services and live performances.

However, the spike in COVID-19 cases has forced Singapore to re-strengthen COVID-19 measures on September 27.

The country was seeing declining caseload over the last several days, with the national count remaining at below 3,000 cases per day. Some 85 percent of Singaporean population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with two jabs.

On November 19, Singapore reported 1,734 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total tally to 248,587. Death toll stood at 641./.

VNA