Omicron variant slams brake on Singapore VTL expansion, easing of social measures

SINGAPORE is freezing all new vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) and relaxation on social measures, with the emergence of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus.

Speaking at the Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF) on Tuesday (Nov 30), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said "this is the prudent thing to do for now, when we are faced with a major uncertainty".

Ong, who is one of three co-chairs of the MTF, said Singapore will run parallel health protocols for the Delta and Omicron variants.

"For Omicron, the healthcare protocols will be a lot stricter and quite similar to the initial protocols we implemented when we first encountered Covid-19," said Ong.

Specifically, cases confirmed or suspected to be infected with the Omicron variant will be conveyed directly to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases for isolation and management.

The health ministry will also conduct full contact tracing for these cases to identify their close contacts and place them on a 10-day quarantine at a Government Quarantine Facility, and conduct Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing at the start and at the end of their quarantine.

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"PCR tests continue to be able to pick up Covid-19 infections of all variants but there is a particular PCR test that we have, supplied by Thermo Fisher ... (which) can also indicate if a person is likely to be infected by the Omicron variant," said Ong. "We will prioritise this particular PCR test for travellers."

"It is not foolproof, but the indicative result allows us to act faster and differentiate the healthcare protocols between the two kinds of infections."

The minister also said Singapore is setting up dedicated isolation facilities for Omicron "as an option if public health considerations justify it".

"The swab samples from all these individuals will also be simultaneously sent and prioritised for viral genetic sequencing so we can ascertain if it is indeed an Omicron variant infection."

On the paediatric vaccination front, Ong updated that "good progress" is being made for this group who are aged 5 to 11. "We will announce details when ready," he said.

Singapore residents are also advised to defer all travel to higher risk countries and regions. These include Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

"In addition, we encourage travellers who visit countries/regions with reported cases of the Omicron variant or countries with high traffic volume to these higher risk countries/regions to take extra precaution, including wearing masks, and observing good personal hygiene and safe management measures even if these requirements are not required there," said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

On Nov 28, the MTF announced they are deferring the launch of the VTLs with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates until further notice.

This, they said, is in view of their proximity as transport nodes to the affected countries of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The VTLs were originally lined up to be launched on Dec 6, with applications for the vaccinated travel pass for short-term visitors and long-term pass holders opening on Nov 29.