AFTER early September, Singapore will begin to reopen borders for vaccinated persons to travel without having to serve a 14-day stay home notice (SHN) upon returning, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in Parliament on Monday, sketching out the roadmap for reopening in the weeks ahead.

Current curbs on activities such as dining in restaurants or going to gyms could be eased as soon as early August - but only for fully vaccinated people, said Mr Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry taskforce on Covid-19.

Singapore will synchronise its reopening with its vaccination coverage, not just of the overall population, but also among the more vulnerable seniors, he said.

In early August, the taskforce will review existing measures and the infection situation. By then, two-thirds of the population and about three-quarters of seniors would have received two vaccine doses.

If the infection clusters are under control and hospitalisation rates stay low, some measures can be eased. But this easing will only be for vaccinated persons, as they are better protected, he added.

This means that anyone who wishes to attend large events or religious services with more than 100 persons, or to dine in a restaurant, or to work out in a gym, will have to be fully vaccinated.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 8.30 am

Asean Business

Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.

Sign Up

By around early September, Singapore expects about 80 per cent of the population to be fully vaccinated. "We will then be able to ease the restrictions further, including allowing larger groups to get together, especially if they are fully vaccinated," said Mr Wong.

Singapore will also begin to reopen borders, especially for vaccinated persons. This will start by establishing travel corridors with countries or regions that have managed Covid-19 well and where infections are under control.

With these arrangements, full vaccinated persons will be able to travel to such countries or regions without having to serve a 14-day SHN in a hotel upon returning. "Depending on the risk level of the country they visit, we will either replace the SHN with a rigorous testing regime, or shorten the SHN to 7 days at home," he said.

Beyond that, Singapore will continue to ease measures progressively. While Covid-19 cases will be expected to rise, the main focus will no longer be on daily case numbers, but instead on infected persons who need supplementary oxygen or intensive care.

At each stage of easing, the government will monitor such health outcomes, and may have to slow down or pull back if the number of severe cases shoots up.

Singapore must also be prepared that new variants could lead to more severe outbreaks, which may force the reintroduction of restrictions from time to time.

Mr Wong said this was an overview of the roadmap of transitioning to a "Covid-resilient" society in which the virus is part of daily life. The taskforce is still fleshing out the details and will share more when ready, he added.

Read more:

• Practically all social and workplace restrictions could be lifted in the new normal: Gan Kim Yong 

• ‘200 cases a day may not be unusual’ as Singapore moves to an endemic Covid-19: Ong Ye Kung

• Programmes available for job-seekers after Covid-related temp roles: Tan See Leng