Singapore to bar short-term visitors from Guangdong as COVID-19 cases spike in Chinese province

SINGAPORE: Singapore will tighten border control measures for travellers from Guangdong amid an increase in COVID-19 cases in the Chinese province, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Jun 4). 

From 11.59pm on Saturday, short-term travellers holding an Air Travel Pass with travel history to Guangdong within the last 21 days will not be allowed to enter Singapore.

Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders who have been in Guangdong will have to take a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival at Changi Airport. 

They will also serve a seven-day stay-home notice at their place of residence and take another PCR test before the end of their isolation period. 

All other travellers from China do not have to serve a stay-home notice. They are required to take a PCR test upon arrival, and if the result is negative, they will be allowed to go about their activities in Singapore, said MOH.

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The Air Travel Pass, announced on Aug 21 last year, allows short-term and leisure travellers to enter Singapore without any restriction on their itineraries.

The pass is open to short-term visitors travelling from Australia (excluding Victoria state), Brunei, mainland China (excluding Guangdong) and New Zealand. Applications from Vietnam and Taiwan were suspended after a spike in COVID-19 cases in the two places. 

Guangdong, China's manufacturing and export hub and biggest province by economic output, is the epicentre of the latest COVID-19 outbreak in China, which started in late May. 

The province has reported more than 50 local infections in the latest wave. Neighbourhoods have been locked down and anyone leaving the province has to show a negative virus test taken within the past 72 hours.

"As the global situation evolves, we will continue to adjust our border measures to manage the risk of importation and transmission to the community," said MOH. 

Travellers should check the SafeTravel website for updates to border measures before entering Singapore, the ministry added. 

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