Singapore eyes sports, conferences, concerts for vaccinated residents

FILE PHOTO: People wearing face masks cross a road amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore May 20, 2021. REUTERS/Caroline Chia

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore is aiming to allow bigger gatherings for conferences, live music, sports, weddings and religious events for people fully vaccinated against coronavirus later this month, when it expects more than half of its population to be immunised.

The plan would follow a loosening of some coronavirus restrictions from next week, including allowing up to five people to dine at restaurants, its health ministry said on Wednesday.

The announcement came as Singapore sees an accelerated COVID-19 vaccination rate and very few locally transmitted cases in recent weeks.

Authorities are aiming for more liberal social measures for those fully vaccinated, like gatherings of up to eight people, the ministry said.

More may also be allowed to return to the workplace, based on the percentage of fully-vaccinated employees.

However, the looser measures would apply only to those inoculated under the national programme, which uses Moderna and the vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

Sinovac's CoronaVac is only available in private healthcare institutions and is not a part of Singapore's national programme.