S’pore residents who still travel despite advisories could face consequences: Lawrence Wong

Individual responsibility.

Guan Zhen Tan | Mandy How | March 22, 2020, 01:39 PM

On Mar. 22, the Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF) for Covid-19 announced that Singapore will be barring all short-term visitors from Mar. 23, 11:59pm.

Travellers from anywhere in the world are not allowed to enter or transit through Singapore, in a bid to curb the rise of imported Covid-19 cases.

On Mar. 18, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has also advised Singaporeans to defer all travel abroad with immediate effect.

In response to a query about what would happen to those who still insist on travelling, co-chair of MTF Lawrence Wong said that there has to be "consequences" for such people, whether they are a citizen, a permanent resident or a long-term pass holder.

"Because if people are still choosing to travel despite our advisory and despite full knowledge of how serious the situation is, I don’t think we can allow such a situation to continue. So we are discussing and thinking through what additional measures will be needed," Wong said.

Singaporeans are also urged to exercise individual responsibility in the number of activities they engage in, as well as to minimise physical contact with one another.

"These are things that it's not possible for the government to enforce, all of these private activities," Wong added.

Cannot continue life as it was

Addressing the barring of short-term visitors, Wong said that one should avoid using descriptors like "lockdown" loosely, as everyone has a different understanding of the word.

Instead, he prefers to focus on the rationale for these measures.

He said, "We don’t take any of these measures lightly, these are very serious measures, very significant moves. And that’s why, as I have said, we have decided to do this, because we think there is a need now to control the numbers coming back. And also because of the risk of the virus spreading in other countries, having escalated to such a high extent."

Even within Singapore, Wong said, one cannot be complacent, or continue with life as it was.

This has manifested itself in tangible ways within the country, with requirements for safe distancing and the cancellation of events with 250 or more participants.

Top image via Hugh Llewelyn on Flickr, Tan Guanzhen