Hong Kong has suspended flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines for two weeks from yesterday, after the N501Y mutant Covid-19 strain surfaced in the city.

The three countries have been classified as "extremely high risk" after there were multiple imported cases carrying the strain into Hong Kong recently.

It is puzzling why Singapore is not doing likewise, and suspending flights from other countries where even more contagious variants of Covid-19 are said to be raging.

So far, Singapore has been doing well in curbing the spread of Covid-19 in the community.

But it cannot be overconfident or complacent and let its guard down.

If there is one lesson to be learnt from other countries, it is that dithering costs lives.

David Kong