On Sunday (May 16), the Multi-ministry Task Force (MTF) announced during a a press conference that starting from May 19, all primary, secondary, junior college (JC) and Millennia Institute (MI) students, including students from Special Education (SPED) schools, will shift to full Home-Based Learning (HBL) till end of the term on May 28.
MTF will monitor and decide if Singapore needs to have another circuit breaker
This was an addition to a series of Covid-19 measures, in light of the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in Singapore.
In response to a question from the media regarding calls to go back to a full circuit breaker, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the government will need to continue to "monitor the situation and come to a decision later".
Ong said that there are some factors that need to be considered and monitored before a decision is made.
He pointed out that today (May 16) was the first day that more stringent measures have been put in place, including the barring of enclosed settings without wearing of masks, such as in restaurants.
He added that with the pairing of Antigen Rapid Testing (ART) with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing, the government will be able to detect cases much faster.
The minister also said that the coming days will be spent monitoring how these cases will surface, and if the cases will be flushed out more quickly as well.
Ong also mentioned that the government will be studying the severity of the disease among those who are vaccinated, or those who have been infected by vaccinated individuals.
After these factors have been considered, Ong said "when the time is right, we will make the right decisions".
"If it has to come to more stringent measures...we will do so, and if it is a circuit breaker, we will say it is a circuit breaker," the minister said.
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Top image via Ministry of Communication and Information