Singapore will not allow short-term visitors from entering or transiting through the country in view of the heightened risk of importation of COVID-19 cases, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Sunday (Mar 22).
Previously, except for a handful of countries, short-term visitors were allowed to come into Singapore, although they will have to serve a 14-day stay-home notice once they entered the country.
The expanded restriction to all short-term visitors will take effect at 11.59 pm on Monday, MOH said in a press release.
At the same time, only work pass holders providing essential services, such as in healthcare and transport, will be allowed by the Manpower Ministry to enter or return to Singapore. This will include their dependents.
“In light of the rapidly escalating virus outbreak around the world, we have decided to significantly tighten our borders,” National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said at a media briefing on Sunday morning.
“These are very significant moves, especially for a small open economy like Singapore that has always been connected to the world,” he said.
“This is an unprecedented crisis so we have deliberated over this carefully.”
Mr Wong, who co-chairs a multi-ministry task force tackling the outbreak here, said these new measures are needed to keep Singapore’s borders safe, as well as to limit the number of new imported cases and conserve resources for returning Singaporeans.
Almost 80 per cent of Singapore’s new COVID-19 infections over the past three days were imported cases with travel histories to 22 different countries, MOH said in its press release.
Most of them are Singapore residents and long-term pass holders who are returning home.
As previously announced, all Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term pass holders returning to the country will be issued a 14-day stay-home notice, which requires them to stay home at all times.
Even with the 14-day stay-home notice, Singapore still sees short-term visitor numbers “in the hundreds”, said Mr Wong. On Saturday, 533 short-term visitors arrived in Singapore.
While “very few” of these short-term visitors have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the minister said enforcement resources are still required to serve them stay-home notices and ensure that they comply.
“Even if one were to fall sick, they take up medical resources and during this time, we just have to focus our resources on the returning Singaporeans because they are coming back in large numbers,” he told reporters.
For work pass holders, Mr Wong noted that they are already required to seek approval from the Manpower Ministry before travelling to Singapore.
“So we are simply saying, no one can return unless you are deemed essential,” he said.
This may include returning foreign domestic helpers, particularly if there is a real need to look after the elderly or children, he said in response to a question.
Source: CNA
