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.
Hamas decided not to respond or engage with Israel's counter-proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, an official told Reuters on Wednesday, affirming it is committed to the mediators' plan instead.
Israel launched airstrikes on military airbases and infrastructure sites in the Syrian cities of Damascus, Hama and Homs on Wednesday, the Israeli military said.
The White House has confirmed that tech billionaire Elon Musk will stay on to complete his mission to slash government spending and downsize the federal workforce, dismissing media reports that he will leave the role soon.
At least one person was killed and 10 injured, including three children, in overnight drone attacks by Russia on Ukraine, officials said on Wednesday. Various attacks also damaged energy facilities in two regions, according to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.