Singapore — The quarantine period for most inbound travellers has been reduced from 21 days back to two weeks after it was found that variants of concern such as the Delta variant, did not have a longer incubation period.
Since there was little known about the emerging variant of concern, including its incubation period until recently, the Ministry of Health (MOH) had required travellers with recent travel history to higher-risk places to serve a 21-day stay-home notice.
Now that the stay-home notice (SHN) period has been reduced, incoming travellers from 11:59 PM on Jun 27 will be required to test themselves regularly with self-administered antigen rapid test (ART) kits, along with the existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. This is because of the high transmissibility of the new variants.
These travellers will also be required to undergo PCR tests on arrival in Singapore, and also undergo the said test on day 14, before ending their stay-home notice.
However, migrant workers from higher-risk countries or regions, who stay in dormitories or work in the Construction, Marine, and Process (CMP) sector, will still be required to spend an additional seven days at the Migrant Worker Onboarding Centre or a dedicated facility after their initial 14-day stay-home notice.
Countries considered to be high-risk are all other countries except Brunei Darussalam, Australia, Macau, Hong Kong, mainland China, and New Zealand.
India has also declared a new coronavirus variant to be of concern, with nearly two dozen cases detected in three states.
The variant, identified locally as “Delta-plus”, was found in 16 cases in the state of Maharashtra, Federal Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.
The ministry said on Tuesday that Delta-plus showed increased transmissibility and advised states to increase testing. /TISG