SINGAPORE, Jan 21 — From 11.59pm on Jan 23, travellers entering Singapore on the Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) will only be required to take unsupervised self-administered Antigen Rapid Tests (ART) on Days 2 to 7 of their arrivals, and only if they need to leave their place of residence or accommodation on those days.
They will not have to declare the results of their tests to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the ministry said today.
Currently, these travellers have to undertake a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on arrival in Singapore, followed by unsupervised self-administered ARTs on Days 2, 4, 5 and 6 of their arrival in Singapore. They have to submit these test results online to MOH.
On Days 3 and 7, they have to undergo supervised self-administered ARTs at an approved test centre.
And fully-vaccinated travellers arriving after Jan 23, 11.59 hours who recovered from Covid-19 within the last 90 days will be exempted from all testing and Stay Home Notice (SHN) requirements if they are able to provide appropriate documentary proof.
The latest changes announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) today come as imported Covid-19 cases form a shrinking overall proportion of Singapore’s overall Covid-19 cases.
The ministry had announced at the end of last year that it would extend an enhanced seven-day testing regime for travellers arriving via VTLs for four weeks to facilitate the detection of imported Omicron cases and slow transmission into the community.
“This has bought time for us to booster vaccinate more residents, learn more about the Omicron variant and make necessary adjustments to our Covid-19 strategy,” MOH said on Friday.
“As imported cases now form a shrinking proportion of our overall cases, we will simplify the VTL testing regime.”
Travellers who arrive before Jan 23, 11.59pm are still required to continue with the existing testing regime.
Under the new regime, travellers who test positive on their ARTs will no longer need to undergo a confirmatory PCR test. Instead, they should self-isolate for 72 hours at their place of residence and monitor their health.
They can resume their normal activities if they test negative after this period.
Facilitating travel for recently-recovered travellers
The ministry said that travellers arriving in Singapore after 11.59pm on Jan 23 who are fully vaccinated and recently recovered will also be exempted from all testing and SHN requirements if they have appropriate documentary proof.
Meanwhile, recently recovered travellers who are not fully vaccinated will be exempted from pre-departure testing requirements, but will still be subjected to all other prevailing border measures, said the ministry.
“This will facilitate the safe return of recently-recovered residents who travel overseas,” added the ministry. — TODAY
