The government will consider looking at changing the travel restrictions for some Chinese cities, if the travellers from those cities serve a 14-day self-isolation period, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Mar 31).

Wong, who co-chairs a multi-ministry task force on Covid-19, said in a virtual press conference:

"We are looking at the situation in China in particular because the spread of the virus there, I think, has come under control.

They have zero local cases. The new cases in China are large, almost entirely imported ones. So the situation has stabilised. And if the situation stabilises then we will consider looking at, allowing changing the travel restrictions for some of the Chinese cities."

"For example, in Beijing or Shanghai we could consider allowing short-term visitors to come from these cities into Singapore, but with the requirement that they serve a 14-day self isolation period", he added.

Most Covid-19 cases in China are imported cases

Xinhua, China's official state-run press agency, reported that the Chinese health authority said on Tuesday (Mar. 31) that no new locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 were reported on the Chinese mainland on Monday.

It has however received reports of 48 new confirmed Covid-19 cases, all of which were imported.

The Hubei province, where the Covid-19 outbreak first emerged, also reported no new cases for the seventh consecutive day on Mar. 30.

Hubei however saw one new death, which was reported in Wuhan on Monday (Mar. 30).

Entry denied to travellers from China and Hubei in late Jan and early Feb

The Singapore government first stepped up measures to deny entry for Hubei travellers into Singapore on Jan. 29.

Subsequently, Singapore extended its entry ban on visitors with recent travel history in Hubei province to all who are arriving from mainland China on Feb. 1.

In other words, they will not be allowed to enter Singapore if they have travelled to mainland China in the past 14 days.

Wong said that the Singapore government constantly reviews and updates its travel restrictions based on the latest developments in countries worldwide, adding that Singapore's "travel restrictions now are at their highest level".

He said the reviewing of travel restrictions for the Chinese cities is something that the government is considering and studying very carefully.

He said that as "with all our changes and adjustments to our travel restrictions, they will be based on data and evidence".

Wong added that the Singapore government will "always ensure that our borders are kept safe".

Photo via gov.sg/Youtube and Katherine Gu on Unsplash.

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