SINGAPORE — As Singapore exits the "stabilisation phase" of managing the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government will taper off its support measures to businesses, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (Nov 20).

The Jobs Support Scheme, where companies get subsidies for part of the wages they pay to employees, will be extended beyond Nov 21.

However, it will be reduced from 25 per cent to 10 per cent of the wages for the period between Nov 22 and Dec 19 for food-and-beverage business, retailers, cinemas, museums, art galleries, historical sites, family entertainment sites, tourism businesses, gyms and fitness studios, and performing arts and arts education companies.

There will still be a half-month rental waiver for the cooked-food and market stallholders in centres managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) or NEA-appointed operators.

There will also be a Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund payout of S$10 for each vehicle a day in December, up from the S$5 announced before, followed by a payout of S$5 for each vehicle a day in January next year for taxi and private-hire car drivers.

The total sum of the support measures is S$90 million. This will be funded from the higher-than-expected revenues collected to date, MOH said. 

There will be no further draw on past reserves, it added.