Singapore will do away with requirements to wear masks indoors starting August 29, as the country sees its COVID-19 situation stabilise further, the health minister said on Wednesday.
For the first time in more than two years, people in the Southeast Asian city-state will no longer be required to wear masks indoors except on public transport and in high-risk settings like healthcare facilities.
The health ministry also updated rules for non-vaccinated travellers, dropping a 7-day quarantine requirement starting next week.
Singapore, which is a major Asian financial and travel hub, lifted most pandemic curbs, including travel restrictions, earlier this year.
About 70 per cent of the city-state's 5.5 million population has already contracted COVID-19, Ong Ye Kung, the health minister said in a news conference, adding that the re-infection rate is so far "very low".
Singapore has vaccinated more than 90 per cent of its population and has among the lowest COVID-19 mortality rates in the world.
Russia pounded Ukraine's capital Kyiv with ballistic missiles on Saturday, killing at least nine people and wounding 28 others, including four children, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Kuwait’s air defences intercepted a new wave of Iranian drone strikes on Saturday, the army said, as Iran and the US continued to exchange attacks across the Middle East.
Wildfires fanned by heavy winds burned across multiple areas of Greece on Saturday, including near Athens, with large-scale firefighting operations and emergency evacuations underway, while conditions worsened again in parts of Spain and France.
The UAE Year Of Award has been launched to honour individuals and institutions who create meaningful impact and strengthen a culture of community action to make each annual "UAE Year Of" theme into a lasting national legacy.
The UAE has welcomed an agreement announced by US President Donald Trump for Hamas to disarm and Israeli troops to withdraw in Gaza, calling it a significant milestone towards ending the conflict.