Visitors will not be allowed at residential care homes serving the elderly from today to June 20, in view of the recent Covid-19 community cases.

The Ministry of Health said yesterday that the temporary ban is to "reduce the risk of importing Covid-19 into such settings, and the risk of cross-transmission".

"We will work with the homes on strengthening precautionary measures... to assist homes in resuming physical visitations safely," it added. This includes reviewing visitor management and testing policies at the nursing homes, welfare homes, sheltered homes and adult disability homes.

The latest restriction follows the discovery of a Covid-19 cluster at the MINDSville@Napiri home. As at noon on Thursday, the facility in Hougang for adults with intellectual disabilities had 27 cases.

Visits to homes serving the elderly resumed last year on June 19, after being suspended for almost three months. That stoppage came after a cluster of Covid-19 infections emerged at Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home in Thomson, followed by another cluster of 15 cases at Acacia Home - a welfare home in Admiralty for the destitute.

During the circuit breaker, all residents and staff at homes caring for the elderly underwent mass testing to detect infections early and ring-fence clusters.

Even as community cases surged in end-April this year, visits had continued, albeit under tightened restrictions. Some nursing homes barred visitors who had been to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the site of Singapore's first Covid-19 hospital cluster.

Nursing homes that did not have suspected or confirmed Covid-19 cases capped the total number of visitors each day. Each resident could pre-register up to four designated visitors, but no more than two could turn up at a time.

Nursing homes with more than 100 beds had split zones and ensured that staff and residents did not mix across the zones.