In a bid to step up its fight against COVID-19, Singapore has imposed a compulsory 14-day Stay-Home Notice to all travellers coming into the country.
The move comes as the island nation has seen a sharp spike in imported cases over the last week. Over the past three days, about 70 percent of new COVID-19 cases were imported, most of whom were Singapore residents and long-term pass holders returning to Singapore after travel abroad, said a Ministry of Health (MOH) statement.
The government has also advised all Singaporeans to defer all travel abroad with immediate effect. This supercedes the earlier advisory announced on 15 March to defer all non-essential travel abroad.
The expansion of the travel advisory is to reduce the risk of Singaporeans being infected with the virus when abroad, and spreading it to other Singaporeans when they return, said the statement.
14-Day Stay-Home Notice for all travellers
From 20 March 2020, 2359 hours, all Singaporeans, Permanent Residents, Long Term Pass holders and short term visitors entering Singapore will be issued a 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN).
They will have to provide proof of the place where they will serve the 14-day SHN, for example a hotel booking covering the entire period, or a place of residence they or their family members own.
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Short-term visitors with recent travel history to mainland China, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Republic of Korea and Spain, continued to be banned entry or transit in Singapore.
For the land crossings with Malaysia, there are already restrictions imposed by Malaysia under their Movement Control Order. The Singapore-Malaysia Special Working Committee (co-chaired by Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean, and Malaysian Senior Minister and Minister of Defence Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Ir. Hasni Mohammad) are discussing a joint mitigation plan to ensure the safe and sustainable movement of people, goods and services between the two countries.
The existing measures which apply to all inbound travellers, such as requiring those who exhibit fever and/or other symptoms of respiratory illness to undergo a COVID-19 swab test at the checkpoints, will continue to apply.