Today-Dec 31
Travelers from China account for about 1 to 1.5 per cent of arrivals to Singapore by air, or about 700 to 1,000 travelers each day. Of these, 40 to 80 Covid-19 cases are detected on a weekly basis. All have had mild symptoms except for one Singaporean who is “severely ill” with the coronavirus. The Ministry of Health (MOH) gave these figures on Friday (Dec 30) in a statement, recognizing that there is “some public concern about the high level of infections in China” and the latest announcements to relax its border measures on Jan 8. “At this stage of the pandemic, the most important factor is our population immunity,” MOH said.
“We cannot completely stop infections, and indeed the virus has continued to circulate in our communities, but we can ensure that infections result in few cases of hospitalizations and severe illnesses,” it added. The authorities are watching the situation closely and will reinstate border health measures for selected countries if warranted by the public health situation, MOH said. Singapore, along with several European Union countries, Australia, New Zealand, and other Southeast Asian countries are among those said to be monitoring the situation and yet to announce any tightening of border measures on travelers from China. In contrast, other countries such as India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and the United States have announced new testing requirements for all travelers from China. MOH said that the current epidemiological situation of Singapore has remained stable after the XBB infection wave in October, with a seven-day moving average of local Covid-19 cases at 729. The ministry said that Singapore is in a “stronger position to live with Covid-19, becoming more resilient with each Covid-19 wave”. However, with caseloads having gone up in many countries, MOH is “closely watching” the global Covid-19 situation, with China of particular concern as it faces a large infection wave. Read more at: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/1-severely-ill-sporean-china-travel-moh-ready-step-border-measures-2082726
