Singapore bars travellers from India amid surge in infections

All long-term pass holders and short-term visitors who have been to India in the last two weeks will no longer be allowed to enter or transit through Singapore from 11.59pm today.

This will also apply to travellers who had obtained prior approval to enter Singapore and those who transited in India.

Announcing this at a virtual press conference yesterday, Education Minister Lawrence Wong said: "We've been monitoring the Covid-19 situation in India very closely, and all of you know that we made a move to tighten arrivals from India on Tuesday. But since then, the situation in India has continued to worsen."

India yesterday recorded a world record one-day jump of 314,835 new infections and the emergence of a new virus variant with a double mutation.

While those coming from India, most of whom live in dormitories and work in the construction, marine and process sectors, have to serve stay-home notices, the measure is not 100 per cent foolproof and leaks can still happen, Mr Wong said.

"If such a leak were to happen among new Indian arrivals working in these sectors, then a new strain may get leaked into the dormitories and, worse, even recovered or vaccinated workers may get infected.

"We may see new clusters emerging again in our dormitories," he added.

He clarified there is no evidence the recent cases in the dormitories are linked to the cases or the new strain in India.

Eighteen workers living at the Westlite Woodlands dormitory have tested positive for the virus over the last two days.

Hundreds of migrant workers were transferred out of the dormitory and quarantined at various places yesterday.

Mr Wong also said the temporary ban on travellers from India provides time to monitor the situation in the country, understand better the new variants and risks, and allow time to clear out the situation recently seen in the dormitories.

DIFFICULTIES

Asked whether a travel advisory will be issued to Singapore residents on travel to India, Mr Wong said there are no specific restrictions on travel to India, but travellers must be prepared for difficulties in coming home.

"As we are restricting travel, there potentially will be very few flights coming in - coming back from India will be very difficult," he said.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who co-chairs the multi-ministerial task force on Covid-19 with Mr Wong, said Singapore is on heightened alert, given the rising case numbers and emerging virus variants around the world.

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on Facebook that the latest move will increase pressure on industries that are reliant on workers from India such as the construction, marine and process (CMP) sectors, which have been under great strain since the pandemic.

They have also been recovering at a much slower pace compared with other sectors.

Mr Chan added: "I want to assure our companies in the CMP sectors that the Government is looking into measures to provide support and relief in light of the latest developments."

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said on Facebook that property buyers will be concerned about the possibility of further delays in the completion of their new homes and commercial spaces.

He said: " We will work with the Housing and Development Board, private developers and construction companies to see how their projects can be brought back on track."

Earlier at the press conference, Mr Wong, who also spoke on the subject, urged Singaporeans to be patient and understanding.

"If certain projects were to be delayed further, please understand why this has happened, and know that we are doing this (for) public health reasons, and we have to take this additional measure. We hope that everyone will cooperate."

Giving an update on the Westlite dormitory cases at the press conference, Second Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng said the 19 infected workers were mostly from the marine sector, and a stop-work order has been issued for their worksite.

He said the authorities had taken action to quickly isolate, detect and contain infections after a Bangladeshi migrant worker tested positive for the virus as part of his rostered routine testing on Tuesday.

About 30 of his close contacts in the dormitory and workplace have been isolated and placed on quarantine, he added.

A special testing operation in the dormitory was also conducted as a precaution. About 1,200 workers were tested and placed under quarantine.