People attending Mandopop star JJ Lin's charity concert later this month will not need to be seated 1m apart, as part of a new protocol that will relax some safe management measures at selected events.
Other measures that will be eased as part of the Government's plan to live with Covid-19 include doing away with zones or increasing the zone capacity for event participants.
The new protocol - known as vaccination-differentiated safe management measures (VDS) + Test - was announced by the authorities on Monday as part of a plan to trial greater allowances at activities for those who are fully vaccinated.
However, attendees at these events will have to undergo Covid-19 testing before being allowed to participate.
For example, participants must have their test result reflected on their TraceTogether app, or the test must be performed or supervised by the event organiser and venue operator.
The VDS + Test protocol will start with selected meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) events, spectator sports, and live performances.
Apart from JJ Lin's concert, After The Rain, other events under the new protocol include the ongoing Bloomberg New Economy Forum, the recent Milken Institute Asia Summit and the Industrial Transformation Asia Pacific 2021 exhibition starting next Monday.
A One Championship martial arts event in the coming months will also be included.
Marina Bay Sands, the co-organiser of JJ Lin's concert, said all seats may be filled without the need for 1m safe distancing or a one-seat spacing, but prevailing safe management measures must be observed, such as being fully masked at all times.
The concert, which will be held on Nov 27 and 28 at Sands Theatre, is expected to be at near-full capacity, with about 2,000 attendees on each night.
The annual Milken Institute Asia Summit, which ended on Tuesday, saw zones of 200 people - double the limit for other Mice events, which can have up to only 100 people per zone.
A spokesman for the Milken Institute Asia Centre said: "The key focus of our event is the in-person component. It is great to have zones of 200 so our participants can network with each other in a safe environment." He added that participants from each zone were given coloured lanyards to ensure that they did not mingle with those from other zones.
At the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, groups of five, including non-delegates, are allowed to dine together at the forum's venues and other designated restaurants. There are no zoning requirements.
Mr Brian Strong, Bloomberg Media's global head of commu-nications, said: "This means there will be no need to mark out zones, and participants can move around freely. But everyone has to undergo an antigen rapid test every morning at their designated hotels before they can come for the event."
The Industrial Transformation Asia Pacific 2021 exhibition, which is expecting about 5,000 in-person attendees over three days, will also have no zoning requirements.
It can also have increased capacity limits of 1,000 people in a hall at any one time - double the 500 that other typical exhibitions can have.
Health provider Raffles Medical Group will be conducting antigen rapid tests for the event's in-person attendees, either on-site or at its clinics.
It is also trialling self-testing at home for selected attendees to reduce the strain on on-site testing operations. These attendees will have to upload their test results onto a dedicated website.
The Ministry of Health said the outcomes of these pilots will be assessed before deciding how to expand the protocol to more events and settings.
