Up to eight people could be allowed to gather outside their homes when Singapore moves into phase three of its reopening, the multi-ministry task force handling Covid-19 said yesterday.
Asked how the task force arrived at this figure, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong responded that safe distancing was a concern.
The task force had initially considered increasing the limit to 10 instead of eight, he said.
But in public places like restaurants, having groups of 10 would make it more difficult for patrons to maintain a certain distance from one another, he added.
Moving from five to eight was therefore seen as a reasonable increase that was more manageable. “We also do not want to have a sudden increase with a large number, and as a result, then we end up with big clusters of transmission,” he said.
During a press conference yesterday, the task force set out Singapore’s road map to phase three, which could happen by the end of this year.
Apart from increasing the group size of social gatherings outside homes, households may also be able to welcome eight visitors instead of five.
“I would have liked to stay at five, but of course, I think five is quite stressful for quite a lot of people and especially families with a large number of members,” Mr Gan said.
He added that Singapore can afford to increase gathering sizes as long as people stay vigilant and observe safe distancing measures.
The number may be tweaked as time goes on, he said.
In phase three, capacity limits in venues such as museums, places of worship and wedding receptions may be increased, with multiple zones of 50 persons allowed.
But the nightlife industry, which is deemed as a higher-risk setting, will not restart even when phase three begins, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the task force.
“All in all, we have been at this for, I think, almost nine months now. I know it seems like a lifetime to some of us, and many people are feeling tired and fatigued,” he said.
But he stressed that the fight is far from over, with countries all around the world experiencing spikes in the number of virus cases.
“The hope for a vaccine is there. There are promising candidates, but the journey towards distributing a safe and effective vaccine to billions of people around the world will take a long time,” he said.
“We really have to gird ourselves for a long fight, and we should take that perspective in looking at this issue. This is not something we can overcome within one or two months,” he added.
“We really have to be prepared for the long haul and continue with our vigilant, disciplined approach in maintaining all the necessary measures and allowing us to progressively reopen and resume activities safely.”