COVID-19 origin: Biden asks US intel community to investigate, calls on China to cooperateSingapore, May 27: Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) will be required to present a valid negative COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test report, obtained within 72 hours prior to their departure for Singapore, starting from 11.59 pm on May 29 (Saturday), local media reported on Thursday.
All Singaporeans and permanent residents will only be allowed to board their flights to Singapore on presenting negative test results before departure, except for those who have stayed in lower-risk countries and regions in the last 21 days, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said on Wednesday night.
COVID-19 origin: Biden asks US intel community to investigate, calls on China to cooperate
The lower-risk countries and regions are Australia, Brunei, mainland China, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Macau, according to Singaporean media reports. The Singapore government has recently said on an average, 25 passengers, mostly Singaporean citizens and PRs, were returning home daily from India.
"All travellers will also be required to present their valid COVID-19 PCR test result at the air, sea and land checkpoints when they arrive in Singapore," the ministry said. Those who arrive in Singapore without a valid COVID-negative report may be denied entry, it added.
Permanent residents and long-term pass holders who fail to comply may also have their permits or passes cancelled, the ministry warned. Cargo drivers and other accompanying people transporting goods between Singapore and Malaysia will continue to be subjected to an on-arrival rapid-antigen test at the Tuas and Woodlands (land) checkpoints.
They will only be allowed to enter Singapore if they receive a negative test report. They will not be required to take a pre-departure PCR test, the ministry said. Since November last year, Singapore has required all long-term pass holders and short-term pass visitors entering the country to present a valid negative COVID-19 PCR test report obtained within 72 hours before their departure.
"We had not made this a requirement for Singapore citizens and permanent residents at that time, as we did not want to make it difficult for them to return home quickly, should they be caught unprepared by the rapidly deteriorating pandemic conditions abroad," the Channel News Asia quoted the ministry as saying.
Currently, Singaporeans and PRs will take an on-arrival PCR test before they are put in a dedicated stay-home notice facility. The health ministry said it has put in place advisories on overseas travel for "some time now", and that Singaporeans and PRs abroad "would have had more time to manage the risks of COVID-19 in the countries that they are in".
Milkha Singh continues to be stable, shifted out of ICU; wife admitted with COVID pneumonia
Travellers from lower-risk countries and regions are either required to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival in lieu of a stay-home notice or serve a seven-day stay-home notice at their place of residence with a COVID-19 test administered at the end of the notice.
Travellers who test positive on their COVID-19 PCR test should seek appropriate medical care and ensure that they have fully recovered and are non-infectious before travelling to Singapore, the ministry said. "Singaporeans who test positive for COVID-19 while overseas and require urgent medical care in Singapore can still return to Singapore via a medevac flight or other equivalent forms of conveyance," it added.
Singapore reported 26 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday -- 23 in the community, one in a dormitory housing foreign workers here and two imported infections. As of Wednesday, Singapore has reported a total of 61,916 COVID-19 cases and 32 fatalities due to the disease. The ministry said 61,360 patients have recovered from the disease, while 242 are still in hospitals.
ICMR to study effectiveness of Covishield, Covaxin in preventing progression of COVID into severe form