Work Pass Holders Have To Serve 14-Day Stay-Home Notice Once They Arrive In Singapore
The increase in imported Covid-19 cases has become a huge concern of late. Just yesterday (18 Mar), 47 new Covid-19 cases were reported, comprising mostly imported cases.
In light of recent events, The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has announced additional precautionary measures for new and existing work pass holders coming to Singapore.
From Friday (20 Mar) 11.59pm, all work pass holders returning to Singapore from any country are required to seek MOM’s approval before their journey.
Work pass holders to get MOM’s approval before commencing journey
According to MOM’s press release, the new requirement will apply to 2 groups of people:
- Existing work pass holders currently out of Singapore
- In-Principle Approval holders who have yet to enter Singapore.
Both groups of people, including their dependents, are required to seek MOM’s approval before commencing their journey to Singapore.
Once they reach Singapore, affected workers will be issued a 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN).
Their employers would also have to declare to MOM that they’ve arranged for “suitable premises” for their staff to serve the entire duration of the SHN.
The entry approval can be applied online via the form here.
After MOM has approved the request, work pass holders would be required to show their approval letter to airline staff upon check-in and once more to ICA staff in Singapore.
Similar measures were previously implemented for workers with travel history to other heavily affected countries:
- Mainland China
- Iran
- South Korea
- Italy
- Spain
- France
- Germany
- ASEAN countries
- Japan
- United Kingdom
- Switzerland
These requirements will remain unchanged. The full MOM statement can be found here.
Hope number of new cases will drop soon
While the new approval requirement will bring about some level of inconvenience, we are confident that workers and companies will take it in stride as it is crucial to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The surge in imported Covid-19 cases is truly a cause for concern. However, transmission in the community appears isn’t as high, which is probably the silver lining amid the rise in cases.
Let’s hope the rise in new cases is only temporary and that it will drop in the days to come.
Featured image adapted from Swisscham.
