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All Covid-19 pre-departure test results for travelers from India entering Singapore must come from recognized laboratories that are internationally accredited or endorsed by the government of India, said Singapore’s Ministry of Health ( MOH).
Those without the required valid documents will not be able to enter the country.
Additionally, starting today, all travelers, including Singaporean citizens and permanent residents, with a recent travel history to India in the past 14 days prior to arriving in Singapore, will need to undergo a serological test. The test detects the presence of antibodies and can show if the person might have been infected.
Those who test positive will be exempt from having the polymerase chain reaction swab test, which detects the presence of viral genetic material, before the end of their two-week stay-at-home (SHN) reporting period. .
The latest directive to produce valid test results prior to departure from recognized labs comes as bogus test results become increasingly common in India, with reports from agents and doctors taking bribes to produce them.
This requirement also follows a significant jump in cases imported from India, with the gradual easing of travel rules and the relaxation of the country’s border restrictions.
In the five days from last Thursday to Monday, two-thirds of Singapore’s imported cases, or 61 percent of them, had visited India.
The Health Ministry said last Friday that there will be two levels of checks: one at the Indian airport before boarding and the other at arrival immigration to Singapore.
“Travelers found without the required valid documents will be denied entry to Singapore. We will not hesitate to take action against those who present forged documents to apply for entry to Singapore, including a ban on entering Singapore in the future,” he warned. the ministry.
This new and more stringent border restriction is in addition to existing requirements: a two-week SHN period at specialized SHN facilities and an additional negative Covid-19 test before the end of the SHN period.
“This covers the entire incubation period of Covid-19 and has been effective in preventing the spread in our local community,” the Ministry of Health assured.
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