As of 3 March 2020, 12pm, some 90,689 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed around the world, 10,538 of which are outside mainland China. The Republic of Korea, Iran, Italy and Japan are four of the worst-hit coronavirus-affected countries.
The Multi-Ministry Taskforce responded to these new developments by putting in place additional precautions for travelers. To protect Singaporeans, the latest travel advisory states:
Singaporeans are advised to defer non-essential travel to Iran, northern Italy, Japan and the Republic of Korea; and from 4 March 2020, 11.59pm, all incoming visitors with recent travel history to Iran, northern Italy or the Republic of Korea in the last 14 days will not be allowed entry into, or transit through Singapore.
“We have not included Japan in the incoming restrictions because the number of infected cases in Japan at this stage is still lower compared to the other countries. For Japan, we are managing the risk by having an advisory on outgoing trips at this juncture,” said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong while speaking to reporters at the National Press Centre.
Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents, and long-term pass holders returning from the said countries will be issued with a Stay-Home Notice (SHN). This means they will have to remain in their homes at all times for a two-week period after coming back to Singapore.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) also announced in a press release on 3 March that it has expanded the definition of suspect cases to include persons with pneumonia or severe respiratory infection with breathlessness who had been to Iran, northern Italy, Japan and South Korea within 14 days before onset of symptoms.
Cases meeting the expanded definition will be referred to hospitals for further assessment.
Also from 4 March 2020, 11.59pm, travelers entering Singapore and exhibiting fever and/or other symptoms of respiratory illness but who do not meet the clinical suspect case definition may be required to do a Covid-19 swab test at the checkpoint.
“The Covid-19 swab test kit deployed at checkpoints allows us to test beyond persons who are referred to hospitals, and extend testing to lower-risk asymptomatic travelers as an added precautionary measure,” explained MOH.
After undergoing the test, travelers may carry on with their journey but minimise contact with others, pending the results. This may take between three and six hours.
The additional measures are aimed at reducing the risk of imported cases in Singapore.
Mr Wong highlighted, however, that despite all these efforts, Singaporeans have to be mentally prepared for the number of infected cases in the country to go up.
“Some then ask if this can happen, what’s the point of having all these restrictions? The answer is that the border controls are still useful at this stage of the epidemic, because we can still identify where the sources of risk are, and we can take appropriate measures to reduce the risk from these infected sources.
“By doing so, we flatten the epidemic curve in Singapore. We buy ourselves time and we avoid a situation where our hospitals get overwhelmed by a sudden surge of cases,” added Mr Wong.
