Singapore to drop most indoor mask requirements next week

Singapore will do away with requirements to wear masks indoors from August 29, as the country sees its Covid-19 situation stabilise further, the health minister said on Wednesday.

For the first time in more than two years, people in the Southeast Asian city-state will no longer be required to wear masks indoors, except on public transport and in high-risk settings, like healthcare facilities.

The health ministry also updated rules for non-vaccinated travellers, dropping a 7-day quarantine requirement starting from next week.

Singapore, which is a major Asian financial and travel hub, lifted most of its pandemic curbs — including travel restrictions — earlier this year.

About 70 per cent of the city-state's 5.5 million population has already contracted Covid-19, said Ong Ye Kung, the health minister, in a news conference, adding that the re-infection rate is so far "very low".

Singapore has vaccinated more than 90 per cent of its population, and has among the lowest Covid-19 mortality rates in the world.

ALSO READ:

• Coronavirus: UAE reports 612 Covid-19 cases, 591 recoveries, no deaths

• World Covid cases fall 24%; deaths rise in Asia, says WHO

• Asia