Singapore to restrict visitors from South Korea, North Italy and Iran

Published on : Wednesday, March 4, 2020

In light of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, Singapore has expanded their entry restrictions further to prevent the entry of visitors who have travelled to South Korea, Iran or North Italy in the past 14 days. The fight against coronavirus has only intensified in the country.

In addition, to keep aside all the imported cases, every traveller entering Singapore with fever, any kind of respiratory issue or any illness having similar symptoms may have to undergo a Covid-19 swab test at the checkpoint. The entry of an individual in the country will be based on the test results. The time consumed for producing the results is between three to six hours. Any traveller showing positive results will be taken to the hospital immediately. Travellers who show negative results will be allowed to go forward with their journey to Singapore. However, such travellers will be advised to not mingle with the crowd as a precautionary measure.

Any travellers including Singapore residents who refuse to agree with the test may face penalties under the Infectious Diseases Act. Travellers visiting the country for short-term will also have to undergo the test. In case of disapproval, the visitors would be denied entry in the country.

Lawrence Wong, National Development Minister said in a press statement that the country needs to be prepared for an increased number of cases. He mentioned that the multi-ministry panel fighting the virus has monitored the virus closely. As a considerably small country that is connected to the rest of the world, Singapore has a higher risk of imported cases and hence requires undertaking preventive measures.

With the entry restriction, Singapore residents and long-term pass holders who have previously visited the coronavirus affected areas in the past 14 days will be issued a stay-home notice after their entry in the country. Singapore locals have also been advised to cancel non-essential travel to South Korea, North Italy and Japan, which has an increased number of cases. A similar ban has also been levied on travellers visiting from China and South Korea earlier.