Borders Kept Open for Travellers from India and Indonesia Despite Large Number of Imported COVID-19 Cases from These Countries
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the reasons for maintaining open borders with India and Indonesia despite a high number of imported COVID-19 cases from these countries. Mr Leong Mun Wai inquired about the rationale for not closing borders, while Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon highlighted the necessity of international connectivity for economic survival. Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon explained that migrant workers from these nations are essential for housing and caregiving, and a total closure would negatively impact livelihoods. The government employs a risk management approach involving pre-departure and on-arrival tests, mandatory Stay-Home Notices, and additional isolation for the Construction, Marine and Process sectors. These protocols, supplemented by Rostered Routine Testing, aim to minimize community transmission while balancing public health considerations with critical economic and social needs.
Transcript
14 Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Health what is the reason for not closing our borders to travellers from India and Indonesia given the disproportionately large number of imported cases coming from these two countries.
The Senior Minister of State for Health (Dr Koh Poh Koon) (for the Minister for Health): Sir, international connectivity is critical to our economy and survival. Singapore can ill afford to close ourselves off fully from the rest of the world.
We need a continued inflow of migrant workers to support our key economic sectors, including construction workers to build our homes and critical infrastructure and foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to support the care-giving needs of our families. Many of such workers are from India and Indonesia. If we close our borders to them, many Singaporeans will not be getting the keys to their homes, many households will have their FDWs delayed and will need to find alternative care arrangements for their loved ones. Our economy will also slow down and the lives and livelihoods of many will be impacted. Some of the travellers are our citizens, permanent residents or their close relatives here to visit them. Therefore, we need to adopt a risk management approach to the inflow of these travellers, rather than to close the borders to them entirely.
These migrant workers and visitors are subject to a set of stringent precautionary measures to keep the risk of COVID-19 transmission to our community as low as possible. These include pre-departure tests before they leave their country, on-arrival tests when they arrive in Singapore, and a 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) at dedicated facilities, with another test before they complete their SHN and are allowed to leave the facility. As an additional precaution, all newly arrived Work Permit and S Pass workers in the Construction, Marine and Process (CMP) sectors are subject to an additional seven-day isolation and testing regime at a designated facility following their 14-day SHN. Together, these measures help reduce the risk of transmission from newly arrived migrant workers into our community.
As an additional line of defence, to detect infections in the dormitories and high-risk workplaces early, workers in these settings such as those in the Aviation, Maritime and CMP sectors, are also required to undergo Rostered Routine Testing or RRT at least every 14 days.
As the global situation evolves, the Multi-Ministry Task Force will continue to review our border control measures to strike a balance between public health considerations and the needs of our society and economy.