In a bid to mitigate any further transmission of Covid-19, the airport authorities yesterday said Changi Airport will segregate travellers from high-risk countries to minimise interactions with staff and other passengers.
Flights from these high-risk countries will be assigned their own disembarking pier, and passengers on such flights will use different arrival immigration halls, baggage belts and toilets.
They will also be escorted through the airport, and their on-arrival Covid-19 testing will be done at separate stations.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said the first positive cases had emerged among a few cleaners who worked in Terminal 3 Pier A, where they would have come into contact with passengers. Subsequent cases emerged from their close contacts and colleagues, as well as workers in retail shops in Terminal 3 Pier A. Many of these people had eaten at food outlets at Basement 2 of Terminal 3. Cases later emerged among some who ate at those outlets.
The cluster has since grown to become Singapore's largest active cluster, with 68 cases so far. The country has 12 other clusters, including those linked to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.
The Singapore Prison Service said yesterday it was ceasing face-to-face and tele-visits at Changi Prison, and replacing them with phone calls from tomorrow, after a Sats Food Services employee working there as a chef was found to be infected.
About 5,000 inmates and staff will be tested over the next few days, and inmate activities, including rehabilitation programmes, will be suspended during this period to facilitate testing.
The recent rise in community cases prompted the Government to stop people from dining in at food outlets, and cap social groups at two from today.
The heightened measures, which also include further curbs on visitor numbers at malls and libraries for instance, will be in effect until June 13.
Yesterday, the Early Childhood Development Agency said all visitors, including parents, are barred from entering pre-schools and early intervention centres. At least two tuition centres decided to move classes online yesterday after a few students tested positive.
The tighter measures announced on Friday also put an abrupt stop to some business events. The Singapore Interior Design Festival 2021, scheduled to run for two weeks from tomorrow, is among those forced to postpone.
Meanwhile, The Singapore International Festival of Arts, which opened on Friday, is cancelling five live productions as well as today's performances of the play, The Commission - one of the festival highlights.
The Esplanade's Flipside festival, scheduled for May 28 to June 6, will similarly cancel a number of live performances - to be confirmed later - and pivot to digital for other shows.
The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) yesterday said it will subsidise the cost of pre-event testing for permitted live performances from today until June 13.
This is so that larger audiences can attend, and to cushion the impact on arts and culture companies during this period.
Relief measures announced by Sport Singapore - such as operating grants and direct cash assistance for businesses and self-employed persons affected by tighter curbs - which initially covered up to May 30, have also been extended to June 13, MCCY added.
It is also looking into providing more outdoor spaces within ActiveSG facilities for coaches and instructors to conduct classes.
Wage support for food and beverage (F&B) establishments will also be raised to 50 per cent under the Jobs Support Scheme during the period that dining in is restricted, the Ministry of Health had said on Friday.
F&B outlets, including restaurants and hawker stalls, were yesterday preparing to pivot to online and takeaway orders, saying that last year's experience during the circuit breaker has helped them get a head start.
