Travellers coming from India will have to take Covid-19 test before entering Singapore

[SINGAPORE] All travellers from India, who are not Singaporeans and permanent residents, will have to take a Covid-19 test before departing for Singapore.

From next Thursday, they will have to present a valid negative test result from a polymerase chain reaction test that has to be taken within 72 hours of their flight here.

This new and more stringent border restriction, which covers travellers who were in India within 14 days of their arrival to Singapore, will apply on top of existing requirements - a two-week stay-home notice (SHN) at dedicated SHN facilities and a further negative Covid-19 test before the end of the SHN.

Announcing this on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) noted reports of a resurgence of infections in India. A "significant number" of imported cases in Singapore also have recent travel history to India, it said.

A one-year-old Singaporean baby who had arrived from India on Aug 24 was the only imported case on Tuesday.

On Monday, two of the three imported cases had arrived from India. The third case was from the Philippines.

India reported 89,706 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking its total number to 4.3 million and making it the country with the second highest number of patients after the United States.

MOH said it will continue to adjust border measures to manage the risk of importing more cases which may lead to transmission in the broader community.

It said travellers should be prepared to be subjected to control measures upon entry, including the payment of their stay at SHN facilities and tests.

THE STRAITS TIMES