Masks will soon be optional, except on public transport and in healthcare settings

Masks will soon be required only on public transport and in healthcare settings such as hospitals, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

In his National Day Rally speech, PM Lee said the Covid-19 situation has stabilised, and that relaxing mask requirements would help prevent people from getting tired.

"But please don't take your masks off this very moment," he told his audience with a smile at ITE College Central in Ang Mo Kio. Details will be announced by the multi-ministry Covid-19 task force.

Currently, masks are mandatory indoors. But with the easing of requirements, they will be optional in most indoor settings, except on public transport, where people are in prolonged close contact in a crowded space; and in healthcare settings such as clinics, hospitals, and residential and nursing homes, where there are vulnerable people, PM Lee said.

For schools in particular, masks should not be needed in class, he said, assuring parents that the risks had been assessed and that children would be safe.

"Children do need to be able to see the facial expressions of their teachers and of each other," said PM Lee. "You have to learn to read faces: Is he angry, is he happy, did he say her or the, otherwise you grow up with a blank space in your brain. It's crucial for learning and development."

PM Lee said people have worked with one another, trusted the Government and patiently endured rounds of easing and tightening of safe management measures.

Unlike other countries that have seen sharp spikes and declines in the number of coronavirus cases, the Republic's Covid-19 waves grow and tail off more gradually, he said.

This has helped the country spread out the impact and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, he added.

Singapore has recorded fewer than 1,600 Covid-19-related deaths so far.

Every death is one too many, but the death toll could have been higher if the Republic had suffered mortality rates similar to those of other countries, said PM Lee. "We could easily have suffered 10,000 Covid-19 deaths, or more by now," he added.

The high level of trust has been key to the country's success in tackling Covid-19, he added.

Wearing masks was a divisive issue in some countries, said PM Lee. "But in Singapore, people worked with and not against one another."

Singapore must be prepared to encounter more variants and waves, as the virus will remain for quite some time, he warned.

"One day, the next pandemic will come. A new virus will emerge, more transmissible, more adaptable and more dangerous than Covid-19. And we must be ready for it."

The most important lesson was to maintain the spirit of exercising personal and social responsibility, he said.

"Continue to nurture trust in our society, day in, day out, during normal times," PM Lee added.

"So that during the next crisis, we can again draw upon a deep reservoir of trust to see us through, just like we have done during Covid-19."

Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, said relaxing the mask requirements shows that the nation has determined the overall cost of maintaining a mask mandate does not justify the compromises involved. This includes the impact on the ability to work and communicate effectively, as well as on children's ability to learn effectively in schools, he said.

But there is a higher risk of Covid-19 transmission on public transport and in healthcare settings, he noted.

He added: "People should still keep their masks on in any settings they are uncomfortable with, and the reality is that wearing masks does reduce the risk of respiratory infections, including influenza and common colds, not just... Covid-19."