Circuit breaker measures to ease on 1 June if cases stay low

Measures such as social distancing will still remain after.

The government is keen to roll back more circuit breaker measures by 1 June to restore economic and social activities if the number of new cases and infection in Singapore continues to remain low, according to the Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong in a press conference.

The circuit breaker measures were noted to have been able to reduce infections in the community, with the number of new cases daily falling from 30 in mid-April to eight in the past week. Daily cases amongst migrant workers in dormitories have eased from over 1,000 in late April to about 700 in the recent week.

The Multi-Ministry Taskforce has drawn up a plan to allow migrant workers in dormitories to be cleared, so that they can return to work safely and free of infection as the measures are lifted. These are expected to involve a differentiated approach and a combination of assessment tests and isolation processes.

However, other measures will remain, such as social distancing and safe management in workplaces. "As we gradually lift the circuit breaker measures, there is a risk that the community cases may rise again. This has been the experience of many countries which have seen a second wave of infections after relaxing their social distancing measures," he said.