SINGAPORE, Feb 9 — In light of the improved global Covid-19 situation, mask-wearing will no longer be required on public transport and parts of indoor healthcare and residential care settings from next Monday (Feb 13), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.

In indoor healthcare and residential care settings, masks still have to be worn by visitors, staff and patients where there is interaction with patients and in patient-facing areas, such as hospital wards, clinics and nursing homes.

MOH said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 9), MOH said this will be a "requirement” rather than mandated under the Covid-19 regulations.

Giving an update on the Covid-19 situation here, MOH said about 80 per cent of the Singapore population has achieved minimum protection, and around half are up to date with their vaccinations. Many have also recovered from infection during previous Covid-19 waves.

"With this, the risk of Covid-19 infections leading to severe illness or death has become very low, comparable to other endemic respiratory diseases, such as influenza or pneumococcal infections,” said MOH.

In January, the daily number of Covid-19 related hospitalisations here stayed below 100, and daily Covid-19 related patients in the Intensive Care Unit remained in the single digits, added the ministry.

On the global situation, the ministry said that the number of Covid-19 cases has been declining since late December 2022, and viral variants of higher severity have not emerged.

"Infection waves in the Northern Hemisphere and in China are rapidly subsiding,” the ministry said, adding that there was also no significant increase in the number of imported cases here.

"The World Health Organization has recently acknowledged that the pandemic is nearing a turning point, signalling that the global Covid-19 emergency may be ending soon,” said MOH.

Besides healthcare, other authorities may also require mask-wearing, said MOH. One example is the Singapore Food Agency, which has required food handlers to wear a mask or spit guard for food safety reasons.

MOH added that private enterprises may also opt to maintain mask-wearing requirements as company policy for workplace health and safety or business continuity reasons.

"As mask-wearing is an effective way to minimise the risk of infectious diseases, we encourage members of the public, especially the elderly and immunocompromised, to wear masks in crowded places, or when visiting or interacting with vulnerable persons.

"We strongly advise individuals who are unwell with symptoms of Covid-19 or other respiratory infections to wear a mask when they need to leave their homes,” said MOH.

Stepping down border measures

Due to the stable and improving global Covid-19 situation and the low impact of imported cases on Singapore’s healthcare capacity, MOH said Singapore will also stand down remaining Covid-19 border measures from Monday.

This means all non-fully vaccinated travellers entering Singapore will no longer be required to show proof of a negative pre-departure test.

Non-fully vaccinated short-term visitors will also no longer be required to purchase Covid-19 travel insurance.

However, the Vaccinated Travel Framework, which was launched last April to facilitate the safe resumption of international travel, will remain in place for reactivation if there are any "international developments of concern”, such as new severe variants or signs that our healthcare capacity is strained by imported cases.

MOH said that it continues to screen travellers for other infectious diseases of concern, such as Yellow Fever, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Ebola. — TODAY