Bigger headcounts, easier rules allowed for Mice events as pilot scheme starts this week

SINGAPORE on Monday (Nov 15) began a scheme to allow large business gatherings with fully vaccinated attendees who have been tested for Covid-19, with the Milken Institute Asia Summit and Bloomberg New Economy Forum among the pilot events.

The vaccine-and-test protocol, which enables bigger headcounts, will be extended to more events and settings "if the outcomes prove effective" in the coming weeks, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong added at an evening briefing.

Capacity limits and zoning requirements "will be eased in a calibrated manner" at select meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) business events, as well as sporting events and live performances, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced.

The MOH said it will assess the pilot outcomes "before deciding how to expand the protocol to more events and settings, as part of our broader plan to allow safe resumption of further activities as we move towards being a Covid-19 resilient nation".

Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry taskforce on Covid-19, said that the vaccine-and-test requirement "provides extra protection and safety" and could let more people attend concerts, forums and conferences.

Economist Song Seng Wun from CIMB told The Business Times that any expansion of the pilot should give a fillip to the services sector and turn the largely manufacturing-led economic rebound into a broader-based recovery.

He added that the resumption of larger business and leisure events has to be taken alongside the reopening of international borders, as "these big events are going to be very marginal" without demand from returning overseas visitors.

Hard-hit tourism-related industries, such as travel and hospitality, "are being given more of a helping hand" with the move, as domestic consumption has been constrained by a shrinking population base in Singapore during the pandemic, Song noted.

Events that the MOH named under the pilot include the two-day Milken Institute Asia Summit which ends on Nov 16, as well as the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, which runs from Tuesday to Friday; the Industrial Transformation Asia Pacific trade show from Nov 22 to 24; a charity concert by singer JJ Lin in end-November; and a One Championship martial arts event.

The concessions will be made for events where all participants are fully vaccinated and are found to be negative for Covid-19 through either laboratory or rapid tests. The test results must be shown on attendees' TraceTogether contact-tracing app status, or the tests have to be carried out or supervised by event organisers and venue operators.

The news came as the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) last week told BT that it has been testing "new protocols and innovations" to resume Mice events.

Protocols that are being tested at these pilots include higher capacities and less restrictive zoning requirements, the STB said, in response to BT queries.

"STB and the Ministry of Trade and Industry will continue to work with event organisers on their event proposals and review the requirements for MICE events, based on industry feedback and learnings from the pilot events," its spokesperson added.