Restrictions on International Travellers to Prevent Import on COVID-19 Cases

Mr Speaker, Sir, restrictions on short-term travel into Singapore have been in place since 22 March this year to prevent the import of COVID-19 cases from abroad. In line with our phased resumption of activities safely from 2 June after circuit breaker, we will also gradually reopen our borders to safe international travel.

This will initially comprise green lane arrangements with countries that have low numbers of cases and rates of transmission. These countries should have in place effective systems to test and isolate cases, as well as detect and stop any transmission chains.

We will start on a limited scale, focusing on essential travel for businesses to function and for purposes such as maintaining critical infrastructure and providing needed services. As global conditions improve, we will gradually expand such arrangements to include more groups of travellers. Besides pre-departure checks, incoming international travellers will have to comply with safety protocols on arrival. These include testing and the use of devices for contact tracing.

As announced on 3 June, the first green lane arrangement will be launched on 8 June between Singapore and six Chinese provinces or municipalities, namely Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Tianjin and Zhejiang. We intend to progressively expand this list to include other Chinese provinces as well as other countries, taking into account public health and safety considerations.

As a key transport and business hub, it is critical for Singapore to re-establish and strengthen our connectivity with the world. We will do so in a safe and calibrated manner, so that we can continue to protect lives and livelihoods.

Sir, I just wanted to ask the Senior Minister of State how we deal with countries where the numbers are low and they seem to have no community spread, and the reason is because they do not do sufficient testing. We understand that there are some countries that do not have enough test kits and they do not do sufficient testing.

The other question I have is that last month, the Minister for Health did say that we are not doing widespread community testing because the yield is very low for asymptomatic testing. To be effective, it needs to be done repeatedly because being tested negative does not reflect immunity and those who had been tested can be infected after the test. So, how do we reconcile that? Even if they are tested okay and they come over, they may still be COVID-positive.

Mr Speaker, I thank Mr Lim Biow Chuan for his questions. We do not just look at one number to decide which countries are safe for us to establish green lane arrangements. It is a holistic assessment of the situation in that country. Various factors have to be taken into account including their testing capacity and how well they have kept infections within the community in that country under control. So, it is a holistic assessment before we decide which are the countries that are safe enough for us to have these green lane arrangements. The other countries are making the same assessment about us. So, it has to be a bilateral, mutual agreement before we can establish such channels.

On Mr Lim's second question, this is why we have more than just one test. For the individual, based on the current arrangements with China, before you travel to China, you would have to take a PCR test within 48 hours of departure. And you must be tested negative to have a SafeTravel pass, which you must show before you are allowed to board the plane. Next, when you arrive in China, there will also be another test done, and pending the results of the test, the individual would have to stay in a pre-identified location. Only when the test is negative, then that person is allowed to resume business activities. The same is true for travellers coming from China into Singapore. There will also be two tests: one test before departure and another test upon arrival.

Other safeguards include not being allowed to roam around on their own, not allowed to take public transport as there would have to be arrangements made by the sponsoring organisation or company. The itinerary of the business traveller would be something that has to be controlled as well.

So, there are additional safeguards on top of a PCR test – multiple layers of checks. The important prerequisite for green lane to be established is that the community cases in both countries must be kept low and under control.