SINGAPORE — Visitors who have been in China's Hubei province over the last 14 days or have passports issued in Hubei will be barred from entering or transiting in Singapore from noon on Wednesday (Jan 29).

The latest measures announced by the Health Ministry (MOH) on Tuesday come in the wake of two new confirmed cases here.

This brings the number of cases here to seven, with the latest three cases discovered in the last 24 hours.

The Government said that airlines would be informed about the new rules on Tuesday and they would, in turn, notify passengers.

The entry prohibition will apply to all land, sea and air checkpoints, and those who are turned away will have to make their own travel arrangements with airlines or other forms of transport to exit Singapore.

MOH said that while there was no evidence of the virus spreading in the Singapore community right now, given the accelerating trend here of infection among Chinese nationals from Hubei, it would put in place enhanced measures.

Besides barring visitors from Hubei from Wednesday, Chinese nationals with passports issued in Hubei will, with immediate effect, no longer be issued new visas. 

Short-term visas and multiple-visit visas that were previously issued to these individuals will also be suspended, as will visa-free transit facilities for these individuals.

Announcing the measures at the Health Ministry’s headquarters on Tuesday, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs a government taskforce dealing with the virus, said that in the last 24 hours, there has been an accelerating trend of the infection among Chinese nationals from Hubei. 

“Within Singapore itself, we have had a near doubling of imported cases overnight,” he said, adding that the infection seen in other parts of China also originated from Hubei, the province where Wuhan — the epicentre of the outbreak — is. 

“Given the heightened risk, we don’t want to leave anything to chance.”

The government taskforce met on Tuesday morning and decided to beef up the city-state’s response to the virus, said Mr Wong. 

MEASURES NOT ‘KNEE-JERK’

Mr Wong gave the assurance that the latest measures were not “knee-jerk” but were "considered" moves.

“We decided that there is sufficient evidence of... a real risk of this creating community spread of the virus within Singapore, and therefore, we have to take action.”

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Mr Wong had said on Monday that a total ban on travellers from China over the virus was unnecessary at the moment, as he cautioned against overreaction and xenophobia. 

But he warned on Tuesday that if the situation worsens beyond Hubei, the Singapore Government would have to update its measures to cover other Chinese cities and provinces. 

Authorities here said travellers would have to declare their recent travels, so that officials can determine if they have been in Hubei in the last 14 days. Right now, immigration systems allow Singapore’s authorities to see only the last port a traveller called at.

While Mr Wong acknowledged that there could be irresponsible travellers who may not declare their recent travels to Hubei, he said multiple checks were in place.

Medical teams are deployed at aerobridges and thermal scanners are stationed at checkpoints to pick up passengers who are unwell. Officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority can also query travellers at checkpoints, for example, he said. 

OTHER MEASURES

Other enhanced measures that will be put in place:

1. Singaporeans, permanent residents (PRs) or those with long-term passes — such as work passes — who have travelled to Hubei within the last 14 days will be quarantined.

2. Returning PRs and long-term pass holders with Chinese passports issued in Hubei will also be quarantined.

3. Those already in Singapore who travelled to Hubei recently or hold Hubei-issued passports will be quarantined if they are assessed to be of higher risk. Risk factors include contact with a person who has contracted the Wuhan virus or recent visits to hospitals in China.

The Government will give those quarantined S$100 a day if they are self-employed. For those on a company’s payroll, the sum will go to their employer, said Mr Wong. 

MOH reminded the public that quarantine orders have legal force with severe penalties for non-compliance. 

Under the Infectious Diseases Act, anyone who violates a quarantine order for the first time could be fined up to S$10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.

On Tuesday, MOH also gave details of the two latest cases. 

The sixth confirmed case is a 56-year-old Chinese national from Wuhan who arrived in Singapore on Jan 19 and was staying with his family in their home at Pasir Ris Grove. 

He developed a cough on Jan 25 and went to Changi General Hospital the next day.

Meanwhile, the seventh case, a 35-year-old Chinese national from Wuhan, arrived in Singapore on Jan 23 and stayed at integrated resort Marina Bay Sands. 

He developed symptoms the next day and went to Raffles Hospital on his own. 

He was transferred to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases by a private ambulance that day. 

Both men tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection at 11pm on Monday. 

MOH said that all seven patients were in stable condition. 

As of noon on Tuesday, 91 suspected cases had tested negative for the Wuhan coronavirus. Test results for 72 cases are pending. 

MOH has identified 160 close contacts from the seven confirmed cases.

Of the 130 who are still in Singapore, 116 have been contacted, and are being quarantined or isolated. Efforts are under way to contact the remaining 14 close contacts.

WORK PASS APPLICATIONS FOR HUBEI WORKERS REJECTED 

In a statement on Tuesday night, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it would reject with immediate effect all new work pass applications for workers from Hubei until further notice. 

“As of (Tuesday), we have rejected more than 30 new applications. Renewal applications for existing work pass workers from Hubei will not be affected,” the ministry said. 

MOM urged existing work pass holders from Hubei who are overseas or have travelled to Hubei in the last 14 days to postpone their return to Singapore. 

“We expect employers to be responsible and ask these employees to defer their return until the situation stabilises,” said MOM. 

Those with valid work passes will still be allowed to enter Singapore, but they will be quarantined at home or other suitable facilities.

"Employers should inform these employees that they will be quarantined if they choose to return to Singapore,” MOM added.

INDIVIDUALS THE ‘MOST IMPORTANT DEFENCE’ 

As the city-state hardens its defences against the virus, Mr Wong said that individuals still formed the most important layer of defence.

“(Whether a) visitor or resident in Singapore, (we) have to be socially responsible. And anyone who shows symptoms, step forward immediately, go and see a doctor quickly, wear a mask if you are ill.

“We have a system in place to detect, isolate and contain the situation… All Singaporeans have to work at containing the spread of the virus and minimise the risk of (it) spreading within our community,” he said. 

For the latest on the Wuhan virus outbreak, visit: https://tdy.sg/Wuhanvirus.