Coronavirus: Singapore tightens testing for all travellers amid Omicron concerns
- Travellers must test negative for Covid-19 within two days of their departure, and will also have to take a PCR test on arrival in Singapore
- The government will also halt introducing new quarantine-free travel arrangements and relaxing social distancing measures, health minister Ong Ye Kung said
Singapore, which in recent months was progressively reopening its borders and allowing quarantine free travel, will from Friday tighten its coronavirus testing regime for all travellers amid concerns over the new Omicron variant.
Ministers told a press briefing on Tuesday that this would buy the country time as it learns more about the new variant. The government will also halt introducing new quarantine-free travel arrangements and relaxing social distancing measures, said health minister Ong Ye Kung.
Singapore, where 85 per cent of 5.45 million people are fully vaccinated, has not detected any cases of the Omicron variant within its local community.
Singapore has quarantine-free arrangements with 27 countries, but on Monday delayed the launch of vaccinated travel lanes to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia because they serve as transport nodes to countries affected by the new variant.
On November 22, the city state had also relaxed distancing measures and allowed diners to eat in groups of five instead of pairs.