More Singaporeans can return to the office, attend events

More than 1,000 attendees can go to one event as long as all of them are fully vaccinated.

Singapore has eased restrictions once more, Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong announced at the latest multi-ministry taskforce press conference.

“Up to 50% of those who are able to work from home can return to the office. We will increase event sizes to 1,000 attendees if all of them are fully vaccinated persons,” Wong said on 19 August.

Capacity limits for malls, public venues, and attractions are also set to ease in the coming days.

Despite the high vaccination rate, Wong said that people should expect COVID-19 cases to rise once the economy is opened up.

“We must be mentally prepared that cases will rise as we resume more activities and reopen our economy,” he said.

Currently, Singapore has a vaccination rate of 82%. The 18% that have yet to be vaccinated include vulnerable seniors and children.

This, along with the current surge of COVID-19 cases in other countries, Wong said, is why the government will not remove restrictions in a “big bang” manner.

“Instead, we are doing this in a controlled, step by step manner. As the saying goes, we are feeling the stones as we cross the river. Each time we make a move, we will monitor the data, we will look at the evidence, and ensure that our hospital system is able to cope with the infection situation before we take the next step,” the minister said.