Written Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran to Parliamentary Question on Effectiveness of Pre-Arrival PCR Tests on VTL Travellers and Reinstatement of SHN or Quarantine Order if COVID-19 Cases Escalate

Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Transport 

a.     how effective have pre-arrival polymerase chain reaction tests been at detecting COVID-19 infections before an incoming traveller under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) enters the community; 

b.     whether there have been any cases of VTL travellers failing to comply with the enhanced testing regime; and 

c.     whether reinstatement of Stay-Home Notice or Quarantine Order will be considered should the number of COVID-19 Omicron cases escalate.

Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran:

1.     All travellers who enter Singapore under the Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) undergo an on-arrival test (OAT) and are required to self-isolate until they produce a negative OAT result. The OAT has been effective in identifying COVID-positive individuals and isolating them before they interact with the community. As of 31 December 2021, more than 220,000 VTL-Air and VTL-Land travellers had entered Singapore, of whom less than one per cent were found to be COVID-19 positive based on their OAT results, and were isolated according to the prevailing public health protocols.

2.     With the emergence of Omicron, the testing regime for travellers arriving via VTLs has been enhanced to reduce the risk of spread of Omicron in Singapore. From 7 December 2021, arriving VTL travellers have been required to perform daily self-administered antigen rapid tests (ARTs) on Days 2 to 7 of their arrival in Singapore. Travellers are required to upload their test results on Days 2, 4, 5 and 6. On Days 3 and 7, they undergo supervised self-administered ARTs at Combined Test Centres or Quick Test Centres, and the results are automatically uploaded to MOH’s database. Those who test positive are contacted to undergo a confirmatory Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test.

3.     Travellers who do not submit their test results or attend their supervised tests are contacted and reminded to do so. The overall compliance rate for the VTL testing regime has been about 99%.

4.     MOH’s current assessment is that the enhanced testing regime and limits on the number of VTL arrivals are sufficient to manage the public health risk, and there is no need to re-introduce Stay-Home Notice for VTL travellers.