Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Singapore Tightens Rules for VTL Travelers amid Omicron Concerns


Fri 03 Dec 2021 | 08:52 PM
Omnia Ahmed

Singapore tightened restrictions on vaccinated travel lanes (VTL), as the country reported the first cases of the Omicron variant.

Travellers entering Singapore will have to take COVID-19 tests daily for seven days on arrival. There is going to be additional swabs on top of the current requirement for a pre-departure test, an on-arrival polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, as well as supervised antigen rapid tests (ARTs) on day 3 and day 7 of their visit.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced, on Friday, that the new testing requirement will take effect on Dec 6, 11.59 pm, adding that it will remain in place for four weeks "in the first instance" until 11.59 pm on Jan 2, 2022.

In the same vein, the United Stated reported at least 9 cases of Omicron variant, including 5 in New York City.

The cases were confirmed in Minnesota, Colorado, New York, Hawaii, and California. California confirmed the first U.S. case of omicron on Wednesday, bringing the total number of reported cases so far to 10.

In the same context, Minnesota public health authorities confirmed the second U.S. case of omicron, in a resident who recently returned from New York City, according to the state’s department of health.