People vaccinated against COVID-19 will be given 'some concession' when overseas travel resumes: Gan Kim Yong

SINGAPORE: People vaccinated against COVID-19 will be given "some concession" when travelling or returning to Singapore, co-chair of the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force Gan Kim Yong said on Thursday (Jun 24).

This could mean a shortened stay-home notice when vaccinated travellers come into Singapore, said co-chair of the task force Lawrence Wong. It could also mean that the stay-home notice is "waived entirely" and replaced with COVID-19 tests, he added.

The guidelines will depend on the country visited, said Mr Wong.

"These are the potentially revised guidelines that will apply to vaccinated persons. We are still working through them, and we will announce them when we are ready," he added.

READ: Singapore to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination programme, increasing daily doses by 70%

READ: Singapore on track to increasing group sizes for 'higher-risk' settings in July, including for dining-in: Lawrence Wong

Overseas travel can resume if Singapore reaches "higher rates of vaccination", said Mr Gan.

“Come August, we expect about two-thirds would have been vaccinated and protected from serious illness, but two-third will still not be enough.

“We need to continue to press on with vaccination to achieve an even higher rate of coverage. Then we will be able to resume the higher-risk activities, which we have suspended over the last one and half years, maybe with some capacity limits imposed,” said Mr Gan, who is also the Minister for Trade and Industry.

READ: About half of COVID-19 cases in Bukit Merah View market cluster not vaccinated: Assoc Prof Mak

READ: COVID-19 task force shares broad plan for new normal with possible home recovery and travel

MORE WORKERS

More migrant workers and foreign domestic workers will also be allowed into Singapore, said Mr Gan.

“This will ease the immense pressures our companies have been under since the start of the pandemic and allow stalled projects to restart, family members to reunite and their migrant domestic workers to join them,” he said. 

“It has been a challenging one and half years for everyone, but the progress we are making on our vaccination programme is the light at the end of the tunnel. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we’ll be able to open up quickly and decisively once we have achieved a high level of vaccination," he added.

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