Easing of COVID-19 rules will bring Singapore 'almost all the way to how things were', says PM Lee

SINGAPORE: The easing of COVID-19 measures from Apr 26 will bring Singapore "almost all the way to how things were" before the pandemic, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday (Apr 23). 

His comments come a day after the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force announced that from Apr 26, Singapore will lower its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level from Orange to Yellow for the first time in more than two years. 

Along with that, several measures will be eased, including lifting limits on group sizes and workplace capacities.

Vaccination-differentiated safe management measures will also be removed for most settings from Apr 26, and TraceTogether will no longer be required for most venues.

All fully vaccinated travellers entering Singapore via air or sea need not take a pre-departure test from Apr 26.

"We are cheered by the further easing of measures announced by the multi-ministry task force yesterday," said Mr Lee in a Facebook post.

"These changes will bring us almost all the way to how things were before COVID-19," he added. 

"I trust that everyone will remain socially responsible - wearing masks when indoors, self-isolating if you feel unwell, and watching out for one another."

Posting photos from a walk around the Botanic Gardens over the recent Easter weekend, Mr Lee said he spotted a yoga group he had seen last year, masked up while practising their yoga poses. 

This time, however, they were exercising without their masks, he noted.

The wearing of masks outdoors was made optional from Mar 29.

While mask-wearing will continue to be required indoors, including on public transport, there will be some flexibility for employees to remove them at the workplace from Apr 26.

They may do so when they are not interacting physically with others and when they are not in customer-facing areas, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday.