Singapore will scrap rules for wearing masks in most indoor settings as the country moves further toward casting off all its pandemic curbs.

Masks will be required only on public transport and health care facilities like hospitals and nursing homes after the easing, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his annual National Day Rally speech Sunday.

Under current long-standing arrangements, masks must be worn indoors at public venues such as shopping malls, hotels and restaurants (unless eating and drinking, of course).

Lee didn’t retail exactly when the mask ban would be lifted, saying details would be released “later”.

The announcement comes almost a year after Singapore first reopened on a quarantine-free basis to the rest of world on September 8, 2021, initially with a system of ‘vaccinated travel lanes’ to selected countries.

VTL travellers had to apply for a vaccinated visitor pass, undergo pre-departure and on-arrival PCR tests, and hold an insurance policy with at least $30,000 in Covid cover.

Once in Singapore, masks had to be worn outdoors as well as indoors, no more than two people could congregate together, and nightlife was almost non-existent with strict bans on bars consuming alcohol after 10pm and playing music.

These rules have been steadily wound back over there course of this year, with visits to Singapore edging ever-closer to a ‘normal’ 2019 experience – although hotel prices remain pegged at their highest in almost six years.

If you’re headed to the Red Dot for some race action, here are the best hotels in Singapore to watch the F1 from.

While you’re in Singapore, don’t miss the city’s newest Michelin-approved eateries, ranging from value-for-money restaurants to hawker centre stalls, and take time out to discover Singapore like a local.

 

Article available on ExecutiveTraveller.com