People from the same household will be allowed to dine out in groups of up to five if two conditions are met, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday.
First, the weekly Covid-19 infection growth rate must fall below one, meaning that the number of new cases is beginning to decline. Next, the hospital situation - especially in intensive care units (ICUs) - must remain stable.
If these conditions are met, more team sports and school activities will also be allowed to resume.
At a press conference yesterday, Mr Wong set out three indicators the multi-ministry task force looks at before deciding to ease Covid-19 restrictions.
These are the daily rate of increase in infection numbers, the proportion of infected people who fall severely ill, and the occupancy rates in hospitals - especially ICU beds.
The Health Ministry's daily reports will be updated with these figures, so the public is able to track them.
But the key number is the weekly infection growth rate - that is, the ratio of cases in the past week over the week before.
This number used to be 1.5, suggesting that cases were doubling every two weeks. It is currently just above one, meaning cases are still going up but at a slower rate.
"Because cases are still increasing, it is still resulting in pressures on our healthcare system," said Mr Wong, who is one of the task force's three co-chairs.
Measures will be eased in certain areas if this number goes below one and the hospital and ICU situation remains stable.
"These are calibrated moves where we assess the risks to be acceptable," the minister added.
Masks are typically worn during school activities, while sports teams can be required to take antigen rapid tests before the start of the activity.
As for dining as a household, the risk of people not abiding by the rules can be mitigated with sufficient enforcement, Mr Wong said.
On Wednesday, the task force announced that tightened restrictions - which include capping group sizes for social gatherings and dining in at two - will be extended for a month till Nov 21.
The measures will be reviewed at the two-week mark and adjusted based on the community situation then, it said.
Mr Wong noted that some people may ask why measures are not eased further, for instance by allowing group sizes to increase across the board to five or even eight people.
This is because relaxing measures across the board will cause cases to rise sharply, impacting the healthcare system, he said.
He acknowledged frustrations about the ongoing restrictions, but added that he hopes that people will understand Singapore's healthcare considerations as it manages the pace of reopening.
"I think we have to ask ourselves, if this were to happen, what will we do when our ICU facilities get fully occupied?" Mr Wong said.
"What happens if there is a surge of cases, and we do not have enough ICU beds to take care of people who truly need ICU care?"
