Singapore to drop all COVID tests for fully vaccinated travelers

April 25 ------ Singapore will drop all Covid-19 tests for fully vaccinated travellers while further easing domestic restrictions in an "important milestone" as it forges ahead with its plan to live with the virus.

Currently, those travelling to the city state are required to take a pre-departure test two days before arrival but this rule will be dropped from April 26. "With this move, it will mean that fully vaccinated and well travellers will not require any tests to enter Singapore," the health ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Tourists coming into Singapore will also be allowed to pay for Moderna Covid-19 jabs. Domestically, more restrictions will also be relaxed from next Tuesday - bringing the country almost back to the state of affairs before the pandemic. Current limits capping social groups to 10 will be removed, all workers can return to the workplace, and safe distancing will no longer be required. The number of places people are required to use the "TraceTogether" contact-tracing application will also be slashed.

"Today is really a happy day that marks a very important milestone," health minister Ong Ye Kung said. "We know the danger is of course, not over, but we can all breathe easier now."

The city state, with one of the world's highest vaccination rates, has progressively relaxed its pandemic restrictions. The health ministry reported that the seven-day moving average of daily infections had fallen from 18,300 at its peak to under 3,100 in the past week. Hospitalization numbers have also dipped to about 266.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com