Singapore bans Pak travellers from transiting or entering country

SINGAPORE: Considering the growing number of coronavirus cases, Singapore on Friday announced that travellers coming from Pakistan will not be allowed to enter the country, neither will they be allowed to transit via the city-state from May 1 onwards, said a statement issued by the country’s Health Ministry.

“We will further tighten our border measures given the sustained increase in cases reported in the regions around Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” said the ministry in a statement.

The ministry explained that currently, the city-state has made it mandatory for travellers coming from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to Singapore to complete a 14-day stay at home notice (SHN) at a dedicated government facility. The country uses SHN as an alternate for quarantine.

Read more: UK adds Pakistan to its 'red list' of travel ban countries “From 1 May 2021, 2359 hours, until further notice, all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history (including transit) to Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka within the last 14 days will not be allowed entry into Singapore, or transit through Singapore,” said the health ministry regarding the latest restrictions.

The health ministry of the country said that the rule will also “apply to all those who had obtained prior approval for entry into Singapore”.

Singapore said that travellers that have come to Singapore before May 1 from the four South Asian countries and are yet to 14-day isolation by May 2 “will need to complete an additional seven-day SHN at dedicated SHN facilities”.

“They will undergo COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests on arrival, on Day 14 of their SHN, and another test before the end of their 21-day SHN period,” said the ministry.