Singapore should follow Israel's lead in suspending the entry of foreigners for two weeks to buy time for more data and knowledge about the Omicron variant to emerge (Israel first nation to ban entry of travellers from all countries over Omicron Covid-19 variant, Nov 29).

The temporary suspension will last for only two weeks and is not a return to a zero-Covid-19 strategy, or a move towards border closure.

Scientists are now rushing to find out more about Omicron. Is it more or less infectious? Is it more or less virulent or lethal? Do the current vaccines work and to what extent? Any yet unknown modes of transmission?

There should be a good number of answers to these questions within two weeks, incomplete though they may still be.

Singapore must guard against the entry of Omicron while waiting for two weeks for such data and knowledge to emerge. If the country does not, going by its experience with the Delta variant, Omicron may be all over Singapore in two weeks, notwithstanding whatever border quarantine measures it may have.

Singapore will then be at the receiving end of the new strain and, if it turns out to be what is feared, may end up having to institute far more drastic measures.

In the course of this pandemic, the Republic has not shied away from imposing domestic restrictions to buy time to tackle various challenges.

Now is the time to summon the courage to put in place a temporary border suspension to buy time for the formulation of a data-driven and knowledge-based Omicron strategy.

Cheng Shoong Tat