Singapore will be able to lift "practically all social and workplace restrictions" when Singapore reaches an endemic state with regards to Covid-19, according to Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong.
However, Gan, who is also the co-chair of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce, added that not all Covid-19 measures may be lifted, as some critical measures such as mask-wearing and precautions for large events "will remain" even when the Covid-19 situation improves.
According to Gan, if the incidence of severe illness from Covid-19 remains low despite clusters emerging "from time to time," Singapore would be able to arrive at a truly endemic state.
This would mean the lifting of "practically all social and workplace restrictions", although he emphasised that critical measures such as mask-wearing and precautions for large events will remain.
Such a state would mean that domestic infected cases will create much less disruption than they do today, which would allow local businesses to largely return to their normal operations.
For example, businesses may not have to shut down their premises for deep cleaning, whenever a Covid-19 case has visited the location.
Instead, infected individuals with mild symptoms may simply recover from home, with close contacts monitoring their health and not needing to quarantine or undergo self-isolation.
"This is similar to how we treat influenza cases today," said Gan.
https://mothership.sg/2021/07/gan-kim-yong-covid-19-endemic-mask-wearing-remain/
