Overseas Leave Applications Allowed For Healthcare Workers
For the past 20 months, healthcare workers have endured a seemingly-continuous stressful period amid the Covid-19 pandemic and have been unable to apply for overseas leave.
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But workers may finally get the break that they so deserve.
According to a MOH Holdings (MOHH) circular, healthcare workers will be allowed to travel overseas for leave as long as it’s under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme.
Previously, exceptions were only given in the case of individual circumstances, according to a Channel NewsAsia (CNA) report.
Overseas leave ban lifted for those in healthcare
According to The Straits Times (ST) on Tuesday (19 Oct), MOH has reviewed the overseas travel guidelines for healthcare workers after streamlined protocols were announced.
Healthcare workers will be allowed to travel under the VTL scheme, although they’ll be subject to prevailing travel advisories and health control measures.
Those who wish to travel overseas need to declare their vaccination status and note the city and country they’re travelling to when applying for leave.
MS News has contacted MOH for comment and will update the article if we get a response.
Good news for healthcare workers
As Singapore’s healthcare system grapples with the surge in Covid-19 cases, respite is sorely needed for healthcare workers.
There’ve been several calls for change in the healthcare sector recently as professionals face long work hours without adequate rest.
This will be especially good news for people with families overseas, as they’ll finally be able to reunite after a long battle.
Everyone’s exhausted and they could do with some rest — they definitely need it.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
