In-person visits to hospitals, residential care homes allowed for all from today
From today, in-person visits to hospitals and residential care homes will be allowed for everyone, regardless of the vaccination status of patients, residents and visitors.
This is part of the easing of Covid-19 measures for such visits, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday.
Visits to residential care homes, however, will be capped at one hour to allow all families of residents the chance to visit.
"Visitors should continue to schedule visits with the home ahead of time," said MOH.
"We also seek the understanding of visitors that visits may have to be suspended if a home is managing active Covid-19 cases."
The next of kin of residents may approach the homes for more details.
MOH's announcement comes as Covid-19 measures are further eased from today. They include the removal of group size limits and safe distancing requirements. The public can also check in at most venues without using the TraceTogether app or token.
The ministry's announcement follows its earlier statement that in-person visits to hospitals and residential care homes will resume from April 4 for fully vaccinated individuals and those who are medically ineligible for vaccination.
Yesterday, MOH encouraged all visitors to take a Covid-19 self-test before visiting hospitals or residential care homes. They should not visit their loved ones if they are feeling unwell.
Those entering the hospital wards or residential care homes must also don face masks with good filtration capability at all times.
"These include surgical masks and reusable masks that are made of two layers of fabric," said MOH.
The ministry reminded visitors not to eat or drink in hospital wards or residential areas of the homes, or use the toilets designated for patients or residents.
They should also avoid sitting on the beds of patients or residents, abide by the hospital's visiting hours and not disturb other patients from their rest.
MOH said hospitals and residential care homes may continue to put in place certain safe management measures. These include visitor pre-registration and limiting to two visitors at a patient's or resident's bedside at any given time. The ministry said these venues are settings with vulnerable individuals and there is a need to protect them from infection.
It also said its hospitals are still seeing a higher-than-usual non-Covid-19 workload.
"We seek the public's continued cooperation to comply with the measures and remain socially responsible to keep patients/residents safe even as we take strides towards normalcy," it added.
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