KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — Singapore is introducing different rules for dining based on a person’s Covid-19 vaccination status as part of the city state’s plans to co-exist with the virus.
Its health ministry in a press statement on Friday said only fully vaccinated individuals and people who have recovered from Covid-19 will be able to dine in groups of five without taking Covid tests starting today (July 19).
Food and beverage outlets must put in place systems to check the vaccination status of dine-in groups.
Unvaccinated individuals with a negative antigen rapid test result may join in groups of five for meals. Dining in will otherwise be limited to groups of two.
Children under the age of 12, who are currently ineligible for vaccinations, can dine together with members of their household without taking a Covid test. These groups are also capped at five.
Singapore considers individuals fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving their second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.
Authorities previously said those who had opted for vaccines developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech will not be granted the same benefits as those who have been inoculated with Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. Sinovac’s vaccine is not been included in Singapore’s national vaccine count due to insufficient efficacy data for the Chinese-made vaccine.
Singapore’s tightened measures come as the country announced that a cluster linked to KTV lounges has grown to over 170 cases. The health ministry further announced today that cases have been detected among fishmongers working at three different markets.
On Sunday, Singapore reported 92 new Covid-19 cases, the highest daily total since August 28 last year, where 94 cases were reported.
Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told reporters at a virtual press conference Friday that four million people or 73 per cent of the population has received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 45 per cent are fully vaccinated.
The figure is likely to rise to 50 per cent by this week, he added.
He said the country is “well on track” to meet its target of having two-thirds of its population to be fully vaccinated by August 9, its National Day.
