SINGAPORE, Aug 7 — Border restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers, as well as work pass holders and their dependants, will be relaxed with Singapore’s higher vaccination rate, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday.
From next Tuesday, the Ministry of Manpower will resume entry approvals for work pass holders and their dependants with a travel history to higher-risk countries or regions as long as they are fully vaccinated.
Higher-risk countries refer to all countries or regions except Brunei, Hong Kong, Mainland China (including Jiangsu province), Macau, New Zealand and Taiwan.
This vaccination condition for entry will not apply to work pass holders and their dependants who had remained in the six lower-risk countries or regions within the last 21 days before arriving in Singapore.
It will also not apply to those seeking entry under the Periodic Commuting Arrangement, which is a travel agreement between Singapore and Malaysia to facilitate movement of workers from both sides.
In another change, fully vaccinated travellers to Singapore from eight countries — Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland — will be able to serve out their 14-day stay-home notice at their place of residence or other suitable accommodation instead of dedicated facilities from 11.59pm on Aug 20.
Travellers are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the full regimen of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Comirnaty vaccine, the Moderna vaccine or any others on the World Health Organisation’s Emergency Use Listing, which include Sinovac-CoronaVac, Sinopharm and AstraZeneca.
These travellers must have remained in those countries for 21 consecutive days before arriving in Singapore.
They must also serve out their stay-home notice alone or with other fully vaccinated household members who have the same travel history and duration of the stay-home order.
Singapore citizens and permanent residents arriving from the eight countries may apply to serve out their stay-home notice at their residence three days before arrival via the SafeTravel website, MOH said.
Other travellers may apply from 11.59pm on Aug 20 and must present the approval to opt out of staying in a dedicated facility upon arrival in Singapore.
MOH added that travellers who gain approval to stay in their own residence or choice of accommodation will have to wear an electronic monitoring device throughout their stay-home notice period.
They will also have to use specially designated transport services to and from their place of residence and bear the costs of the transport arrangements.
This is estimated to cost between S$200 and S$220 (RM622.77 and RM685.05), MOH said.
“Action will be taken against those who breach the requirements of the stay-home notice or make false declarations,” the ministry cautioned.
“As the list of countries will be updated from time to time depending on the public health risk assessment, all travellers are reminded to check the SafeTravel website for updates to the border measures.” — TODAY
