On Friday (Nov. 6), the Ministry of Health announced that all travellers entering Singapore from 11:59pm on Nov. 8 who have a travel history in the past 14 days to Estonia and Norway will be required to serve a 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) at dedicated SHN facilities, even if they have obtained approval to opt out earlier.

This comes after a spike in Covid-19 cases in Estonia and Norway over the past week.

Covid-19 spiking in Estonia and Norway

According to ERR News — the English-language online portal of Estonian Public Broadcasting — a record number of 241 Covid-19 infections were reported in Estonia on Friday (Nov. 6).

This brings the total number of infections in the country to 5,705.

Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu said that mathematical models of the spread of Covid-19 suggest that the country is in the growth phase of the virus, ERR News also reported.

He estimated that the country could see around 300 cases per day in December, even if the spread of the virus slows down.

Meanwhile, Norway reported 56 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday (Nov. 5), bringing the total number of cases to 22,575, according to CNN.

And while the country currently has one of the lowest infection rates in Europe, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health reported that the number of cases have risen drastically in the past two weeks.

As a result, CNN wrote, Norway will be rolling out a new set of measures to place limits on social gatherings, hospitality, and education, and Norwegians are being encouraged to stay at home as much as possible

Previously on list of countries whose travellers could serve SHN at home

On Oct. 27, Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) had announced that travellers coming from Estonia, Fiji, Finland, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkey could opt out of dedicated SHN facilities, and instead serve their 14-day SHNs at their place of residence.

Travellers from Fiji, Finland, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Turkey are still allowed to apply to opt out of dedicated SHN facilities and serve their 14-day SHN at their place of residence.

They must fulfil the following criteria:

1. Travelled to no other country or region than above-mentioned countries in the last consecutive 14 days prior to entry
2. Are occupying their place of residence (i.e. residential address) alone, or only with household members who are also persons serving SHN with the same travel history and duration of SHN.

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Top photo via chuttersnap on Unsplash.