Singapore will require vaccination or daily testing for access to the workplace next year.

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Although only 4% of the workforce in Singapore is unvaccinated for Covid-19, the government announced on Saturday that a vaccine or testing mandate would take effect in January for virtually all public sector workers and private.

Those who refuse the vaccination will have to pay for a daily test, and receive a negative result, before returning to the workplace.

The announcement health ministry comes as the country experiences its worst wave of infections to date.

“There is still no sign of declining cases,” Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said. Wednesday, when the country reported 18 new deaths, its highest number in a single day since the start of the pandemic. Singapore reported a record high on Tuesday 3,994 daily cases.

The government has maintained some of the world’s toughest restrictions on the transmission of Covid. He announced in June that he would abandon his zero Covid strategy – a change that has been possible thanks to the country’s high vaccination rate. About 82% of the population was fully vaccinated on Friday.

Only those who are fully vaccinated, who have recovered from Covid-19 in the past 270 days, who are pregnant or who are not medically eligible for vaccines will be allowed to work in person without daily testing, the ministry said. health.

About 96% of Singapore’s workforce has been fully vaccinated, Commerce Minister Gan Kim Yong said at a press conference on Saturday. About 113,000 workers have still not been vaccinated, he said, and more than 10 percent were older workers.

“We would like to ask employers for help in encouraging their unvaccinated employees to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said.

Even with one of the best vaccination rates in the world, the number of new coronavirus cases has been higher than ever in recent weeks, with two-thirds of Singapore’s intensive care capacity being used.

“In the current situation, we face a considerable risk that the health care system will be overwhelmed,” Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said on Wednesday.

Singapore’s cautious approach to the pandemic contrasts with that of the United States and Europe, where fewer restrictions are placed on meeting friends, going to parties, playing sports or dining out. However, vaccination mandates are becoming more and more common in these countries – Italy enacted sweeping workplace vaccination rules last week.

Singapore only allows one social gathering of no more than two people per day and prohibits unvaccinated people from dining or going to cafes unless they have been tested within the previous 24 hours.

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