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COVID: Health Risk Notices no longer issued to close contacts in Singapore from Tue

TraceTogether tokens are seen before being distributed to residents at Jalan Besar Community Club, as the government speeds up contact tracing efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Singapore September 14, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
TraceTogether tokens being distributed to residents at Jalan Besar Community Club. (PHOTO: Reuters)

SINGAPORE — From Tuesday (26 April), Health Risk Notices (HRNs) will no longer be issued to close contacts of COVID cases by the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Individuals infected with COVID-19 will not have to submit details of household contacts online, MOH said in a media release on Friday.

However, persons should continue to exercise social responsibility such as COVID-19 positive persons informing their close contacts so that the contacts can take the necessary precautions.

Settings with vulnerable persons such as hospitals, nursing homes and elderly homes should request proof of a negative Antigen Rapid Test (ART) result for persons with recent exposure before allowing entry.

Vaccination-differentiated safe management measures (VDS) will also be eased with cases and hospitalisations steadily declining.

From Tuesday, VDS will be removed from all settings, except for events with more than 500 participants at any one time; nightlife establishments where there is dancing among patrons; and food and beverage (F&B) establishments, including restaurants, coffee shops and hawker centres.

On F&B establishments, while VDS is still required, they will no longer need to conduct VDS checks for their customers. This is already the case for hawker centres and coffee shops.

“Instead, the onus will be on the individuals dining in to abide by the rules. Random spot-checks will continue to be conducted to ensure that only fully vaccinated persons are dining in at F&B establishments,” MOH said.

Workforce vaccination measures implemented by the Ministry of Manpower will also be lifted. Nevertheless, employers should have the flexibility to continue implementing vaccination-related instructions for employees for workplace health and safety and business continuity reasons, and in accordance with employment law.

As HRNs will no longer be issued, COVID-19 cases need not upload their TraceTogether (TT) data or submit their TT token from Monday. Most venues will also no longer require the public to check-in using the TT application or token, except larger events with more than 500 participants at any one time and certain nightlife establishments, where VDS checks are still required at entry.

The TT or SafeEntry (SE) capabilities will be maintained as a means of conducting these VDS checks, and in order to rapidly step up contact tracing and VDS checks should there be a need to respond to a new variant of concern.

“The public is therefore strongly encouraged to keep the TT application on their phones as well as their TT tokens,” MOH said.

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