Five things to note in Phase 3 of Singapore’s reopening

Phase 3 of Singapore’s reopening officially began on Monday (Dec 28) with various restrictions being eased in the country. 

Here are five things to note:

In Phase 3, groups of up to eight will be allowed for social gatherings – an increase from the five previously. This means you can eat out in groups of eight, with households being able to host up to eight visitors too. 

Capacity limits in public places like malls, attractions and places of worship will also be eased from 10 square metres per person to 8 square metres per person. 

Additionally, attractions may start applying to the Singapore Tourism Board to increase their operating capacity from 50 per cent to 65 per cent.

To allow time for everyone to collect their tokens from community clubs and centres, the implementation of the TraceTogether app and token as the exclusive mode of entry will only start early next year. 

Until then, you can still use your TraceTogether app, identity cards, SingPass mobile or QR reader apps to check in to places islandwide.

Singapore has reached the 70 per cent mark for TraceTogether usage as at Dec 21, a condition set to enter Phase 3.  

As part of Phase 3, indoor live performances of up to 250 persons in zones of 50 persons each will be allowed. 

This comes after live performances in the arts and culture sector have been allowed to resume since Nov 1. Selected venues have been piloting larger-scale performances of up to 250 persons and outdoor performances of up to 100 persons.

Meanwhile, the multi-ministry taskforce will be expanding outdoor live performance pilots to 250 persons in zones of up to 50 persons each.

Sports activities involving up to eight persons will be allowed in Phase 3, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong in a Facebook post on Dec 24. 

This means that team sports such as basketball, football, futsal, hockey and volleyball can now resume with a 4 v 4 format. Individuals should, however, maintain a distance of two metres or two arms-length while exercising or playing sport.

Sport Singapore added in a press release that an additional service provider is also allowed to guide a group for organised programmes and classes. To find out more, click here.

The Ministry of Health announced on Dec 27 that the country’s vaccination exercise will begin on Wednesday (Dec 30) with healthcare workers at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. 

This will be followed by the elderly aged 70 and above next February, before other Singaporeans and long-term residents who are medically eligible follow suit.

The first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Singapore on Dec 21, making us the first country in Asia to receive them.