In-person visits to hospitals, residential care homes to resume from April 4

SINGAPORE — Members of the public will be able to resume in-person visits to all hospital wards and residential care homes from Monday (April 4) onwards, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Thursday.

In a news release, MOH said that the in-person visits will resume since the daily number of Covid-19 cases here has fallen and that the situation in the hospitals and homes “is starting to improve”.

The suspension of the in-person visits to hospitals and homes began on Jan 24 as a precautionary measure against the infection wave of the Omicron coronavirus strain. The suspension was to last until Feb 20 but was extended twice until April 3.

On Thursday, MOH stressed that visitors will have to comply with the infection control measures in place because the hospitals and homes are settings with vulnerable patients and residents.

It added that the in-person visits are allowed only for people who are fully vaccinated.

“As a concession, we will allow visits for individuals such as patients, residents and visitors who are medically ineligible for Covid-19 vaccination. Under exceptional circumstances, hospitals and homes may also exercise flexibility in their visitor policies on a case-by-case basis.”

The ministry said it understands that the past few months have been difficult for patients and residents as well as their family members and loved ones when the in-person visits were suspended.

“(We) thank everyone for their understanding. We seek their continued cooperation to comply with the safe management measures to keep patients (and) residents safe as in-person visits are resumed.”

It added that it will review and calibrate these measures as the situation evolves.