COVID: Personal visit suspension at hospitals, care homes extended by 2 more weeks
SINGAPORE — The suspension of personal visits to hospital wards and residential care homes will be extended by two more weeks from 20 March to 3 April, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday (18 March).
MOH had previously extended the suspension from 21 February to 20 March.
"While the daily number of local COVID-19 cases has fallen gradually over the past week, our hospitals continue to face a high volume of patients and our healthcare workers are still under significant stress," said MOH.
The suspension will help relieve pressure on hospital staff and nursing home staff who are caring for COVID-positive residents, it added.
Hospitals and homes will continue to have the discretion to allow visits for exceptional cases with the prevailing visitor management measures in place, said MOH. They will continue to support other methods of communication such as through telephone or video calls during the extended suspension, it added.
"We seek the understanding and cooperation of patients or residents, and their family members and loved ones. MOH will review and calibrate these measures as the situation evolves."
Singapore's total COVID-19 case count rose to 986,320 on Thursday with 10,713 new infections.
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