Coronavirus pandemic

Visits to parents, grandparents to be allowed within limits

From June 2, each home can receive only up to 2 visitors from same household once a day

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said there will be some flexibility for households to visit parents, in-laws and grandparents after the circuit breaker ends on June 1, adding that seniors should not leave their houses to visit family members, and should
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said there will be some flexibility for households to visit parents, in-laws and grandparents after the circuit breaker ends on June 1, adding that seniors should not leave their houses to visit family members, and should continue to stay at home. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong

Singaporeans will be allowed to visit their parents or grandparents from June 2, but with some restrictions in place.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday that each household can receive only up to two visitors once a day. These visitors must come from a single household.

As part of this policy, dropping off children at parents' and grandparents' homes for childcare will also be allowed. This comes on top of existing provisions for informal childcare arrangements for essential workers.

The same limit of up to two visitors from one household each day also applies, the ministry said.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said there will be some flexibility for households to visit their parents, in-laws and grandparents after the circuit breaker ends on June 1.

However, siblings will not be allowed to visit one another.

Mr Gan said the limit of allowing only one household to visit elderly family members once a day is meant to avoid having big family gatherings.

"I know this is very restrictive and there will be a lot of appeals and a lot of angst among the children, because everyone wants to see your parents and visit your grandparents all at the same time... We want to avoid having this gathering of people at the senior's house," he said.

Seniors should not leave their houses to visit family members, he added during a virtual press conference, encouraging them to continue staying home.

"You should not leave your home and visit your children and hop from household to household. This will increase exposure unnecessarily to a risk of infection," said Mr Gan, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force handling the coronavirus pandemic.

He added that there will be exceptions for seniors who do not have children, and appeals can be made for siblings or nieces and nephews to visit them.

"Seniors are a particularly vulnerable group and we must continue to take precautions to protect them," he said.

Asked how these rules would be enforced, the minister acknowledged that it would not be easy to do so. He urged people to instead focus on and abide by the spirit of these rules and regulations, which is to protect the seniors in their family.

Should there be complaints from neighbours about incidents of big gatherings, action will have to be taken, he added.

Separately, senior citizens will still not be able to take part in senior-centric activities such as group exercises and karaoke sessions for now, as such activities will continue to be suspended.

However, senior activity centres will gradually resume some activities, to cater to the psychological well-being of seniors with little or no social support otherwise.

Community-based centre services for people with disabilities will also gradually reopen with safe distancing measures in place.

Any necessary activities will be held in smaller groups while people with medical conditions are encouraged to stay home and receive home-based support, said MOH.

Staff will continue to take the necessary precautions, such as wearing masks, maintaining good personal hygiene and ensuring regular cleaning of activity equipment and shared spaces.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 20, 2020, with the headline Visits to parents, grandparents to be allowed within limits. Subscribe