Such measures include only allowing employees who are fully vaccinated or who have recently recovered from COVID-19 to return to the workplace.
Working from home has been the default since September, when Singapore began seeing another rise in COVID-19 cases.
COVID-19 multi-ministry task force co-chair Gan Kim Yong said authorities recognise that such an arrangement is “not ideal and not sustainable in the long run, as face-to-face interaction is important for team dynamics, as well as other operational considerations”.
Meanwhile, social gatherings at the workplace will continue to be disallowed, to “minimise mingling and reduce infection risks”, said Mr Gan.
At the same time, co-chair of the task force Lawrence Wong said the task force is “considering” removing the concession for unvaccinated persons to return to the workplace with a negative test – which was initially said to be allowed under the workforce vaccination measures.
“It does have implications for employers and workers. And that’s why we are consulting and discussing with our tripartite partners on this particular move. We will provide more details when the arrangements are finalised.”
In addition, MOH said the cap on participants at work-related events will be raised above the current limit of 50 people.
But this will only apply to events where all participants remain masked and seated, at a safe distance from each other, it said. All participants must also meet the VDS requirements. The ministry added that more details will be provided separately.
VACCINATION-DIFFERENTIATED SAFE MANAGEMENT MEASURES EXPANDED
Vaccination differentiated safe management measures (VDS) for COVID-19 will also be expanded from Feb 1 to cover more areas.
This is in light of the “importance of vaccinations and boosters” in Singapore’s fight against the new Omicron variant, said Mr Wong.
