Covid-19: Travellers from Poland and Saudi Arabia to serve 7-day stay-home notice; those from Indonesia can transit in Singapore

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Sept 17) added more countries to the lists under which travellers have to serve stay-home notices on arrival in Singapore, while easing transit restrictions for Indonesia.

Poland and Saudi Arabia were added to Category II in the list, where travellers are required to undergo a seven-day stay-home notice at their accommodation of choice. 

Six more countries — Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Latvia, Portugal and Spain — were added into Category III. 

Unvaccinated travellers from countries in Category III will have to undergo a 14-day stay-home notice at dedicated facilities, and those who are fully vaccinated may apply to serve the notice at a suitable accommodation of their choice.

All countries and jurisdictions are classified into one of four categories, with each category having a different set of border controls, based on their Covid-19 situation. 

In a press statement on Friday, MOH announced a slight relaxation of border restrictions for travellers from Indonesia. 

Travellers who have been in Indonesia for the last 21 days would now be able to transit through Singapore as the Covid-19 situation has improved in the country, MOH said. 

All these changes will take effect from 11.59pm on Sept 22.

The authorities previously banned Indonesians from transiting here after a surge in Covid-19 cases there months ago. 

Another change is that travellers from Indonesia entering Singapore would only have to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on arrival, instead of doing an antigen rapid test on top of a PCR test. 

Beyond these adjustments, travellers from Indonesia are subject to restrictions applied to countries in Category IV. 

This includes serving a 14-day stay-at-home notice at dedicated facilities, and also undergoing multiple swab tests. 

“As the global situation evolves, we will continue to adjust our border measures in tandem with our roadmap to becoming a Covid-19 resilient nation,” MOH said, adding that any changes to border measures will be updated on the SafeTravel website.  

Infographic: Samuel Woo/TODAY