SINGAPORE, Nov 30 Reuters -- Singapore will hold off on more reopening measures while it evaluates the Omicron COVID- 19 variant and increase testing of travelers and frontline workers to reduce the risk of local transmission, authorities said on Tuesday.
For now, a quarantine-free entry policy for vaccinated arrivals in the Asian financial and travel hub will not be extended to more countries, while current social distancing measures will remain in place, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said.
Ong said that it was a prudent thing to do when we are faced with a major uncertainty.
Singapore will prioritise use of COVID 19 Polymerase Chain reaction PCR tests produced by Thermo Fisher on travelers. Thermo Fisher said there was a link to the website, www.reuters.com. com business healthcare-pharmaceuticals thermo-fisher says-its-covid 19 tests-accurately detects-omicron variant - 2021 -- 11 -- 29 it is able to detect the Omicron variant.
Any Omicron cases found in Singapore will be placed in government healthcare facilities rather than home isolation, which has so far been used for mild COVID 19 cases.
Singapore's high vaccination rate should offer some protection against the variant, according to Ong.
The city-state had earlier restricted arrivals at https: www.reuters.