Covid-19: Social gatherings should be limited to 2 a day; public advised to meet regular contacts only

SINGAPORE — Social gatherings, be it with another household or in a public place, should be limited to two a day, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday (April 30) following a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the community in recent weeks.

The public is also advised to stick to a regular group of contacts and to keep groups “as small as possible”, MOH said in a press statement. 

The maximum group size for gatherings, however, remains at eight a group.

In explaining the tightened guidelines on social gatherings, Education Minister Lawrence Wong, who is co-chair of the multi-ministry Covid-19 task force, said during a press conference on Friday that this is the “only way we can ensure” that the spread of the virus is slowed down in the community.

“We know these new restrictions... will create inconvenience for everyone. It's not easy because in the month of May, there are three public holidays,” he added.

“I seek everyone's cooperation to scale back your social activities and comply with all the prevailing rules.”

Mr Wong also advised members of the public to avoid going to crowded places and to stay home where possible.

Employers, he said, should allow employees to work from home if they are able to do so and workplaces should continue to stagger start times of employees who need to return to the office and implement flexible working hours.

In its press release on Friday, MOH added that social gatherings at the workplace should also be avoided.

“Our recent community cases show that the risks of a Covid-19 outbreak remain high, even as we press ahead with vaccination. We will be stepping up enforcement efforts and will not hesitate to take action against breaches of the rules,” it said.

MOH added that it will review the current suite of measures and will take further steps to tighten and significantly reduce the level of interactions in the community should transmissions persist.

“We seek the cooperation of all Singaporeans to remain unified and disciplined in the fight against Covid-19. Together, we can look forward to a safer and healthier Singapore.”

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