5 COVID-19 Cases Today (21 Nov) & All Are Imported

Interestingly enough, we might be a tad more interested to look at the number of new cases in Hong Kong instead of in Singapore today.

Nevertheless, for Singapore, it remains consistently low.

Today (21 Nov), as of 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed 5 new cases of COVID-19 infection.

Once again, they’re all imported.

This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 58,148. This is also the 11th day whereby there is no locally transmitted infection.

Based on yesterday’s number, the number of new cases in the community has remained extremely low, with no new cases in the past week.

New Arrangements for SG-HK Travel Bubble That’ll Still Go On

As mentioned above, the travel bubble will go ahead despite the situation.

In fact, the first few flights on 22 Nov will take off and land in two different cities as scheduled.

However, Hong Kong travellers coming over here are required to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival at Changi airport.

It also costs S$196 per traveller.

Painful, but necessary.

However, fees will be waived for the week from 22 to 28 Nov (the first week) to give travellers a time period to adjust to the change.

They’ll then need to self-isolate in the place they’re staying at for six to eight hours until the results come back.

It’s also mandatory for them to take private transport like a taxi or a private-hire car.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said that this was done as a precaution amidst the rising virus cases in Hong Kong.

A PCR is something travellers going to Hong Kong already had to do, which you can find out more over here.

Both countries are monitoring the situation carefully since new cases are expected to pop up due to new clusters.

But when will we know if the travel bubble will get suspended?

Conditions For Suspending The Travel Bubble

It has to hit a certain threshold first.

The travel bubble will be halted if the average unlinked cases over the next week reach 5 per day.

Now, remember, it’s unlinked cases.

Which, according to CAAS, is currently at 2.14.

It might be barely halfway, but let’s just hope the trends from last week don’t return.

CAAS say that in three days, the threshold will be exceeded if over 22 unlinked cases happen.

“This will trigger a two-day notice period, after which suspension will come into effect.”

This would also include a seven-day stay-home notice (SHN) for Hong Kong travellers coming to Singapore.

Advice For Those Going To HK

However, CAAS also reminds travellers going to Hong Kong to “stay vigilant”.

They are advised to avoid crowded places and to follow the country’s public health guidelines.

Basically, just remember to pack your good habits along with your luggage.

CAAS also says to make backup plans in case of the travel bubble being suspended, since they’ll have to change flights and have a seven-day SHN when coming back as well.

Featured Image: Rajaraman Arumugam / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purpose only)