Singapore not tightening Covid-19 curbs for now as it awaits more data on Omicron variant

SINGAPORE is not adjusting its domestic Covid-19 restrictions in response to the Omicron variant for now, although it is taking steps to beef up its testing requirements on vaccinated travellers entering the country without quarantine, the Covid-19 multi-ministry taskforce said on Tuesday.

"We have not detected any Omicron infection within Singapore, which means life carries on. As of now, Delta protocols carry on, no one in Singapore now needs to be affected. What we need to be worried about is the borders," taskforce co-chair and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said during a media briefing.

The Omicron variant was named a Covid-19 variant of concern by the World Health Organization over the weekend after it said the variant carried a "very high" global risk. Public health experts believe its large number of mutations suggest it could be highly contagious and render existing vaccines less effective, sparking global fears of a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Ong's fellow co-chair, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, said it is too early to tell at this stage whether the Omicron variant will lead to domestic measures, and the Republic is for now taking additional steps to strengthen its border measures.

"But we need to have the mindset of being adaptable and nimble, recognising that there will be new threats, there'll be new information and as in this rapidly changing environment, we will have to constantly review and update our measures accordingly based on new information," said Wong.

Singapore currently has a number of vaccinated travel lane arrangements, and travellers entering Singapore from Dec 2 must now take additional Antigen Rapid Tests (ART) on days 3 and 7 of their arrival, among other measures.

Border frontline workers will also revert to a weekly rostered routine testing regime involving polymerase chain reaction tests.

While border measures are Singapore's first line of defence, Wong said experience over the past two years has shown that cannot be the sole measure to stop the new strain from entering Singapore.

"We require multi-layers of defence - having strong border measures will help to buy us time, but it will not keep the virus out," said Wong.

At the same time, vaccines and boosters need to continue, said Wong, and the ability to test and do contact tracing would help to quickly ringfence any cluster that may be linked to this new variant, he said.

READ MORE:

• Omicron variant stops VTL expansion, easing of social measures in their tracks
• Stricter Covid-19 testing protocol for all travellers to Singapore from Dec 2