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Mask-wearing still required indoors in Singapore schools and IHLs

Staff Writer
·Editorial team
·2-min read
Pupils leave their school after class in Singapore, May 18, 2021. Singapore will implement full home-based learning for all primary, secondary, junior college and Millennia Institute students, including those from special education schools from May 19 until the end of the current school term on May 28. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Pupils leave their school after class in Singapore. (PHOTO: Xinhua via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — Mask-wearing will be required indoors as default in schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), while TraceTogether-only SafeEntry check-ins in schools are no longer required.

These and more changes were announced by the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Tuesday (26 April), the same day Singapore moved down to DORSCON Yellow.

Unmasking indoors at schools is only allowed for activities like physical education, sports, singing, wind instrument playing, speech & drama, dancing, and specific groups of students in language or literacy lessons.

Similarly, unmasking indoors at IHLs is only allowed for select activities, such as the consumption of food and beverages, sports, and live performances.

Both schools and IHLs will also no longer implement group size and safe distancing requirements for school activities, including recess. In line with the national posture, vaccination differentiated safe management measures will only apply to events with more than 500 participants, and dining at F&B establishments on IHL campuses.

Regardless of vaccination status, students will be able to participate in activities, including co-curricular activities, national school games (NSG), and Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) arts presentation.

"For NSG competitions, competing schools can send their student supporters to watch the semi-finals and finals at the venue, subject to the hosting venue capacity, and this would be extended at a later stage to family members and other spectators. Select competitions are also live-streamed at https://go.gov.sg/nsg2022," MOE said.

Residential camps for the MOE-Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) challenge programme and Outdoor Adventure Learning (OAL) cohort camps will progressively resume from around end-May.

Other safe management measures such as daily general screening of students’ well-being and frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces, will continue to be in place at schools, said MOE.

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