2020–21 Singapore circuit breaker measures
The 2020–21 Singapore circuit breaker measures were a stay-at-home order and cordon sanitaire implemented as a preventive measure by the Government of Singapore in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country on 7 April 2020.
2020–21 Singapore circuit breaker measures
7 April 2020 – 1 June 2020 (1 month, 3 weeks, and 4 days)
16 May 2021 – 13 June 2021 (4 weeks)
22 July 2021 – 9 August 2021 (2 weeks and 4 days)
Containment of the pandemic
- Default remote work for non-essential workplaces
- Default Home-Based Learning (HBL) for all schools
- Closure and suspension of religious activities
- Restrictions on social gatherings/home visitors (during lockdown, only 2 person is allowed; otherwise 5 persons)
- Food establishments are prohibited from dining in, only allowed to offer takeaways, drive-thru and delivery services
- Masks were made compulsory from 14 April 2020 and relaxed on 29 March 2022 (outdoors) and 29 August 2022 (indoors), and the remainder on 13 February 2023 (public transport and some healthcare areas)
- Closure of some essential shops that were made non-essential from 21 April 2020 (some restrictions were lifted on 12 May 2020)
All restrictions were lifted by 13 February 2023
The measures were brought into legal effect by the Minister for Health with the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020, published on 7 April 2020.[1] Singapore was enjoying zero COVID cases until these were changed due to the Delta and Omicron COVID-19 variant from 8 May 2021 to 29 March 2022.[2]
With its relative success in curbing the early spread of the virus in Singapore, the term "circuit breaker" and its measures was subsequently adopted by other countries, particularly in Canada and the United Kingdom.[3][4]
SafeEntry and TraceTogether[edit]
The Ministry of Health mandated the use of SafeEntry and TraceTogether, which is also called TraceTogether-only SafeEntry (TT-only SE) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scanning in/out using the TraceTogether-only SafeEntry (TT-only SE) either through the TraceTogether app or token was made mandatory for all Singaporeans and at all places such as cinemas, restaurants, workplaces, schools and shopping malls for contact tracing purposes. These included the device called SafeEntry Gateway (Check in and check out) to enable users to scan in and out. In addition, TraceTogether also showed vaccination status and pre-event testing (PET) status whether the person test positive or negative for COVID-19. Tokens could be collected from the community centres and vending machines.[18][19][20][21][22]
Earlier in 2020, there are three phases of planned reopening were announced, which is only relevant in the zero-COVID strategy. These were however ended on 8 May 2021 because of the Delta variant.
Restrictions due to Variant of Concern (Delta and Omicron) started on 8 May 2021 and ended on 29 March 2022, it was only able to have 2 and 5-person gatherings. Two lockdowns are from 16 May 2021 to 13 June 2021[26][27] and 23 July to 9 August 2021, but in between 14 June 2021 and 23 July 2021, the government only had a planned reopening for all similar to June 2020.[28] The government then changed the reopening plan to only allow vaccinated persons to use the services from August 2021.[29] Singapore has phased out its zero-COVID strategy on 9 October 2021. All remaining COVID-19 restrictions were lifted progressively on 29 March 2022 and 26 April 2022; but mask wearing is optional outdoors. Remaining mask regulations for indoor areas were removed on 29 August 2022, except in medical settings and public transportation, with the rest removed on public transportation and some medical settings on 13 February 2023.
In addition, it was announced on 14 December 2020 that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved for use in Singapore, with the first batch slated for around end of December 2020.[30] On 3 February 2021, the Moderna vaccine was approved for use in Singapore, with the first batch slated to arrive around March 2021.[31] Subsequent batches for both vaccines are planned to arrive throughout 2021.[30][31] A mass vaccination campaign was launched, and has been successful in achieving a very high vaccination rate.[32]
Non-compliance[edit]
Through 2021, there were several high-profile instances of people, such as Phoon Chiu Yoke, refusing to abide by the circuit breaker regulations.