The World Health Organisation has officially announced that COVID-19 is a pandemic after the outbreak worsened in just a matter of days.
There are now more than 143,000 people infected and more than 5,300 people have died because of the infection.
More countries are now taking even more precautions as they struggle to cope with the highly contagious and deadly virus and contain its spread within their own countries.
One such precaution that many countries are taking is to impose travel restrictions against those travelling from countries that have been greatly affected by COVID-19.
Travel Restrictions Against S’pore
Previously, we gave a complete breakdown of all the countries that have imposed travel restrictions against Singapore.
Like what my colleague has said, there are three types of travel restrictions that are currently being imposed:
- Denial of entry
- Entry subject to quarantine
- Entry upon clearing the medical screening
Other than countries like Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia that have complete denial of entry for all Singaporeans looking to travel there, another country has just been added to the list.
Philippines is Banning All Travellers From COVID-19-Hit Countries Which Includes S’pore
Previously, the Philippines only banned foreign travellers visiting from China, Hong Kong, Macau, as well as the South Korean province of North Gyeongsang.
But now that they have a total of 64 confirmed COVID-19 cases as well as five deaths, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that the Philippines will be banning all travellers from countries that have local transmissions of COVID-19, which would include Singapore although the names of the countries aren’t revealed.
What if I’m a Filipino living in Singapore and I want to return to the Philippines? Will I be turned away?
No, you will not be turned away.
President Duterte said, “Filipinos and their families, because they are Filipinos and this is their country, they are very much welcome to come back especially in this time if they want a more secure, comfortable place.”
As such, this ban will not apply to Filipino citizens, their foreign spouse and children, permanent residents and diplomatic visa holders.
Filipino workers can also choose to go back to China except for Hubei province where Wuhan is located at, as long as they sign a declaration that states that they understand all the risks involved in travelling to the country.
Travel Restrictions S’pore Has Against Others
It is understandable that many countries are imposing travel restrictions in order to protect themselves from the deadly virus. In fact, Singapore is doing the same thing after we were told to prepare for more imported cases.
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In another article that I’ve done, we looked at all the countries that Singapore has banned travel from:
- Mainland China
- Iran
- Northern Italy
- South Korea
And starting from Sunday, 15 March, 11.59pm onwards, these are the other countries that will not be allowed entry or transit through Singapore:
- Italy
- France
- Spain
- Germany
This, of course, does not apply to Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term pass holders who have travel history to the above-mentioned countries within the last 14 days.
However, they will have to serve a Stay-Home Notice (SHN) of 14 days upon arrival to Singapore. This means that they will have to stay at home at all times throughout the 14-day period.
S’poreans Should Revise Travel Plans For March School Holidays
The Ministry of Health has advised all Singaporeans who have made travel plans during the upcoming March school holidays that begin on Saturday and end on 22 March to revise their plans due to the worsening of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Singaporeans are urged to take the necessary precautions when travelling to countries that have been affected by COVID-19, especially those that have reported exported cases.
Countries to take note of include Indonesia, the Philippines, and even countries further away like the United Kingdom.
Singapore also has travel advisories in place to urge all to defer non-essential travel to Italy, France, Spain, Germany, mainland China, Iran, Japan, and South Korea, as well as to defer all travel to Hubei province in mainland China.
If you do intend to travel during this period, do note that you will be subjected to the travel measures that have been imposed by your destination countries, and you will be subjected to those imposed by Singapore upon your arrival.
This could mean that you would have to serve a 14-day SHN in which you have to remain home at all times throughout the period if you choose to travel to a country that Singapore has imposed travel restrictions against.
Whatever it is, it seems that COVID-19 is here to stay for a long time, and in the meantime, let’s do our part and stay safe.
