At one minute past midnight on April 26, Singapore will drop all COVID-19 testing rules for fully vaccinated travellers. The news was announced by Singapore’s Ministry of Health in a major shakeup of pandemic rules that will see more workers sent back to the office and social distancing regulations dropped.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health said it was now possible to further ease pandemic era restrictions in what amounted to one of Singapore’s most “significant steps” to a return to normal. Group size limits will be ditched, physical distancing will be scrapped and capacity limits for large events will be lifted.
In addition, a cap on the number of employees allowed in the workplace will be removed and the need to ‘check in’ at specific venues will be removed.
“With daily cases falling and stabilising; the impact of the disease has been mitigated by high levels of vaccination; and the disease is typically mild, except in the unvaccinated and vulnerable groups such as the elderly,” the Ministry of Health said. As a result, Singapore’s DORSCON disease alert level will be lowered from orange to yellow for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
After initially shutting its borders to foreign travellers, Singapore has progressively made it easier and easier for travellers to enter the city state. Until recently, visitors were required to take a pre-departure PCR test and a succession of rapid antigen tests after arrival.
The decision to drop all testing rules will make it significantly cheaper for travellers to come to Singapore and follows similar moves by the likes of Australia. Various polls have consistently noted that COVID-19 testing deters potential tourists from wanting to travel over the fear of what might happen if they test positive in a foreign country.
Face mask rules have not been eased for indoor settings including on public transportation. Masking remains optional in outdoor settings.
