(Bloomberg) - Singapore made work-from-home the default and tightened rules to allow a maximum of two people to meet in restaurants or other social settings, as it seeks to rein in mostly mild cases that could otherwise quadruple in two weeks and overburden hospitals.
Primary school students will have to shift to learning from home, while booster shots get extended beyond seniors to a younger age group, the government said. The moves, which take effect from Monday for about a month, appear to shift away from the country’s stated transition towards living with the virus.
With health officials expecting daily cases to jump to around 6,000 from about 1,500 currently, the government wants to curb that increase and avoid a hard lockdown. This resolve may soon get severely tested even though four in five people are already vaccinated in Singapore.
Singapore, until now, has allowed up to five fully vaccinated patrons to dine together at restaurants and up to two at food centers and coffee shops regardless of vaccination status. Workplace restrictions were initially getting loosened with up to half of employees allowed to return to offices.
Even though the total number of patients in intensive care remains low at 23, the jump in mild infections has begun to stir anxiety in Singapore. Residents are airing grievances over not being able to reach the health ministry quickly to discuss their concerns and fretted over the long lag between testing positive for Covid and getting sent to a recovery facility.