271 cases from South Asia over 28 days

Singapore reported 271 imported Covid-19 cases from South Asia over 28 days. About half were Singaporeans and permanent residents, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday.

Work pass holders, student pass holders and dependants comprised 46.5 per cent. The remaining 3.3 per cent were short-term visitors.

Overall, Singapore reported 409 of such imported cases from April 16 to last Thursday, of which fewer than 8 per cent were short-term visitors.

Responding to media queries on the number of imported cases who were short-term visitors, MOH said only those with family ties here, or who are visiting Singapore on compassionate grounds such as to attend a funeral or seek medical treatment, are allowed into the country.

Singapore has been reporting a growing number of Covid-19 cases who have tested preliminarily positive for the B1617 variant, which originated in India.

Noting that the variant is not unique to Singapore, MOH said that the World Health Organisation has deemed it a variant of global concern, with Europe, Australia, Japan and China all having had such infections.

"This is a major reason why transmission is rising throughout Asia - in Malaysia, Thailand, Japan. Even hitherto safe regions, such as Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam, are experiencing outbreaks of community cases," said the ministry.

It added: "These cases all originated from imports because all borders are porous. All it takes is one case to cause an outbreak, and no country can seal itself off totally."

MOH said that all arrivals are subject to stringent stay-home notices and tests, and that the virus could have been transmitted by anyone, not just short-term visitors.

"This is a challenge faced by all countries because no one can entirely close their borders. At the minimum, citizens and residents must be allowed to return home," said MOH.

Proportion of imported cases from South Asia between April 16 and May 13 who were short-term visitors.