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Coronavirus pandemic
This Week in AsiaHealth & Environment

Coronavirus: Singapore’s tourist ban aims to curb imported infections, ease health care pressure

  • The move to ban all short-term visitors entering or transiting the city state includes tightened travel restrictions on work pass holders and dependents
  • It comes as Singapore has registered a spike in imported infections and after it reported its first two deaths from the pandemic on Saturday

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Travellers are seen through the arrival gates of Singapore’s Changi Airport on Thursday. Photo: EPA
Dewey Sim
Singapore’s efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic has earned it plaudits from experts around the world, but a recent spike in imported cases has threatened that success and prompted fresh travel curbs on tourists.

Effective Tuesday, all short-term visitors will be banned from entering or transiting the city state, the government announced on Sunday, with travel restrictions also tightened for work pass holders and their dependents, with only those providing essential services, such as in health care and transport, allowed to enter.

“These are very significant moves especially for a small, open economy like Singapore that has always been connected to the world,” said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs a multi-ministerial task force that deals with the virus.

“This is an unprecedented crisis and so we deliberated over this carefully and the task force has decided we need to put in place these measures in order to keep our borders safe to limit the number of new imported cases.”

A thermal screening camera scans visitors at Singapore’s airport earlier this month. Photo: Reuters
A thermal screening camera scans visitors at Singapore’s airport earlier this month. Photo: Reuters
Singapore’s tourist ban comes as other countries in the region have introduced their own enhanced measures to limit the spread of infection. From Sunday, all foreigners are banned from entering Vietnam, after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued a directive that also suspended all flights carrying foreign passengers. Australia and New Zealand have closed their borders to foreigners who are not permanent residents, while Malaysia has also banned visitors and imposed a partial lockdown until the end of March to restrict people’s movement.
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