In-person business events and live performances will scaled down and event size caps will be reduced from July 22 until August 18, as Singapore further tightens movement restrictions in response to a surge in Covid-19 community cases.

For live performances and business events, up to 100 persons may be allowed with pre-event testing, and up to 50 persons without testing. For spectator and participatory sports events, up to 100 persons may be allowed with testing. Testing would not be required if there are 50 persons or less.

The latest requirements include suspension of dining-in at F&B establishments, reduction in group sizes for social gatherings from five to two, and reduction in operating capacity at attractions and museums to 25 per cent from the current 50 per cent,

In announcing the updated Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said a review would be done two weeks after implementation, and measures would be adjusted further based on the infection situation at that time.

The Covid-19 multi-ministerial task force decided not to differentiate the measures for those who are fully vaccinated, but will consider doing so when vaccination rates are higher or when the situation has stabilised, a Channel NewsAsia report quoted task force co-chair Gan Kim Yong as having said during a press conference on Tuesday.

The multi-ministry task force had earlier announced a tightening of community measures under Phase 3 (Heightened Alert) from July 19 to August 8, in response to growing Covid-19 clusters at KTV lounges and nightclubs. Since then, more clusters linked to a wholesale fish market and hawker food centres have emerged.

MOH said that unlike the KTV cluster, the current wave of infection affects a wider spectrum of the population including many seniors.

“At the current rate of transmission, it is likely that infection cases will rise sharply, and many people in the community will catch the virus. While close to 50 per cent of the population have completed their vaccination regimen, there remains a number of vulnerable individuals, such as our seniors, who have yet to take up vaccination,” the ministry said.

“Unvaccinated individuals are at higher risk of being infected, and higher risk of being seriously ill if infected. Hence, in the meantime, we must act decisively to contain the current outbreak and minimise the risk of our hospital capacity being overwhelmed, while we race ahead to vaccinate those who have not completed or started their vaccination.”

According to MOH, Singapore remains on track to having two-thirds of its population complete the vaccination regimen by National Day on August 9.