Are you a resident of Fiji looking to travel to Singapore? Bad news—you’ll have to be quarantined for three weeks, thanks to the latest Ministry of Health (MOH) directive.
On Monday (14 June), MOH announced tightened border restrictions for travellers who had been to Fiji in the past 21 days in view of the deteriorating COVID-19 situation on the island country.
They will now have to serve a 21-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) in dedicated facilities, according to The Straits Times. Which could be a good thing, if you think about it as an obligation-free staycation where the government mandates you to laze around in a luxurious bed.
Or I guess you could chill around in Fiji with your fancy water.
On the flip side, travellers from Israel will see restrictions relaxed from 11:59pm Wednesday (16 Jun) onwards, where they will only serve a 14-day SHN at dedicated facilities and seven days at their homes.
How lenient. Yay!
Previously, travellers with history to Israel had to serve all three days of SHN at dedicated facilities. Not sure which one’s better—your IKEA bed or a king-sized five-star bed.
These adjustments came as part of the MOH’s risk-based approach to continuously adapt border restrictions to preserve mobility while minimising risks of COVID-19 transmission.
Any updates will be made on the ICA SafeTravel website—unfortunately, you can’t just scan a SafeEntry QR code for Singapore at Changi immigration.
Those who serve a 21-day SHN at home or at dedicated facilities will undergo three Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests for the coronavirus: one on arrival, one on day 14, and one before the end of the 21 days.
What’s Happening in Fiji?
Fiji was a bit like Singapore. The island nation in South Pacific recorded no new locally-transmitted cases for almost a full year, but a recent surge in April brought it back on high alert.
According to CNA, since then, transmission numbers have only risen, with 83 new cases detected on Sunday (13 Jun) in a nation with a population of less than a million. The risk of runaway community transmission is serious for the nation’s under-developed healthcare system, and its largest hospital has, instead, become a major infection cluster.
With a considerable rate of poverty that is expected to have risen as the island’s tourism-based economy is sharply hit, Fiji has so far resisted calls for a lockdown and is instead relying on an ambitious vaccination drive.
Feature Image: Shutterstock.com (Ignacio Moya Coronado / ESB Professional)
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