Latest Updates & Guidance for COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019)

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The Ministry of Health recommends to defer all travel abroad. Essential business and official travel will be permitted under Green/ Fast Lane arrangements only. If you/your employees choose to travel and the traveller is holding a work pass, the company/sponsor must apply for Re-entry approval and this be granted before the person attempts to re-enter Singapore, otherwise they and their dependents may have their passes revoked and be sent back to their country of origin. Approval is being given only in rare circumstances.

Short-term visitors are not allowed entry into Singapore, except those coming in under the Green/Fast Lane arrangements (starting with China, and eventually covering more countries/regions), or with special prior approval. Singapore has also ceased port calls for all cruise vessels. Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and Long-Term Pass holders returning to Singapore from China must also comply with a set of requirements. More information on the requirements for the Singapore-China Fast Lane can be found here.

All inbound travellers will have to serve a Stay Home Notice (SHN) for 14 days and must complete a health declaration. Inbound travellers from most countries will need to serve their SHN at a dedicated facility, with the exemption of travellers who had remained in the following countries/regions in the last consecutive 14 days prior to entry:

• Australia
• Brunei
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Macao
• Mainland China
• New Zealand
• Republic of Korea
• Taiwan
• Vietnam

For the travellers noted above:

• Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents may serve their 14-day SHN at their place of residence
   
• Long Term Pass holders may serve their 14-day SHN at a place of residence that they or their family members own or are sole tenants of; or in suitable accommodation such as a hotel (at their own cost)

From 18 June, all incoming travellers entering Singapore will be tested for COVID-19. The test will be scheduled a few days before the end of the SHN period, at a designated community testing facility. You will receive an SMS notification informing you of the scheduled appointment slot and venue. Travel from your home to the designated testing facilities, and return immediately after the test, using a private vehicle or designated transport. Public transport should be avoided. 

From 18 June, all inbound and outbound travellers who enter or leave Singapore will be required to pay for their COVID-19 tests. All incoming travellers who are not Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents will be required to pay for their stay at dedicated SHN facilities.

The prevailing charges are summarised below:

Short-term visitors granted special prior approval to enter Singapore (except under established Green / Fast Lane arrangements) are subject to the same treatment with regard to SHN and test requirements, and charges, as Long Term Pass holders.

SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES

As businesses begin to reopen, the MOM will enforce a series of Safe Management Measures which must be put in place.

For full details of appropriate Safe Management Measures for various workplace settings, click here.

1. Implement a detailed monitoring plan 
2. Appoint Safe Management Officer(s) (SMO). The duties of the Officer(s) include:
   1. Coordinating implementation of Safe Management Measures
   2. Conducting inspections and checks
   3. Remedying non-compliance
   4. Keeping records of inspections and checks
3. Where employees can perform their work by telecommuting from home, the employer must ensure that they do so.
   1. Measures could include reviewing the work processes, providing the necessary IT equipment to employees and adopting solutions that enable remote working and online collaboration. 
   2. Conduct all internal and external meetings between employees and with suppliers/contractors virtually where possible
   3. No activities with close and prolonged contact
   4. Special attention should be paid to vulnerable employees 
4. For job roles or functions where employees cannot work from home, such as frontline operations, manufacturing production, and fieldwork at construction sites, shipyards or plants, employers must ensure the following precautions are in place prior to resuming operations:
   1. Stagger working and break hours
   2. Implement shift or split team arrangements
      1. There must be no cross-deployment or interaction between employees in different shifts, teams or worksites, even outside of work.
      2. If cross-deployment cannot be avoided (e.g. due to the nature of the job), additional safeguards must be taken to minimise the risk of cross infection (e.g. systems are in place to ensure no direct contact with the cross-deployed personnel).
   3. Minimise need for physical touchpoints
5. In the situation that physical interaction is required in the workplace, precautions should be taken to ensure clear physical spacing of at least 1 metre between persons at all times through the following:
   1. Employers must demarcate safe physical distances (at least 1m apart) at the workplace premises with visual indicators or through physical means (e.g. high barriers between workstations, relocation of workstations, meeting room seats). 
   2. If there is a critical need for physical meetings to proceed, employers should limit the number of attendees and shorten their durations.
   3. Employers who are service buyers should also require their suppliers/contractors to implement similar safe distancing measures, so that operations and business interactions with these suppliers/contractors are kept safe. 
   4. Employers with frontline or customer-facing operations should adopt the queue management measures recommended by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) to reduce physical interactions between service staff and customers as well as amongst customers. 
   5. The monitoring and enforcement of safe distancing could be aided by appropriate technology (e.g. CCTVs, video analytics) where possible.
6. Record proximity data on phones: To help MOH to more quickly identify potential close contacts of COVID-19 patients and reduce disease transmission, employers should encourage all employees to download and activate the TraceTogether app. 
7. Control access at the workplace: Employers must limit access to the workplace to only essential employees and authorised visitors. The SafeEntry visitor management system must be used to record the entry of all personnel (including employees and visitors) entering the workplace.
8. Wearing of masks at the workplace: Employers must ensure that all onsite personnel, including employees, visitors, suppliers and contractors, wear a mask and other necessary personal protective equipment at all times at the workplace, except during activities that require masks to be removed.
9. Observing good personal hygiene: Employers should encourage their employees to observe good personal hygiene, e.g. wash their hands regularly and refrain from touching their face.
10. Step up cleaning of workplace premises
11. Provision of cleaning and disinfecting agents at the following areas:
    1. Cleaning agents (e.g. hand soap, toilet paper) must be available at all toilets and hand-wash stations.
    2. Disinfecting agents (e.g. hand sanitisers) must be installed at all human traffic stoppage points within the workplace, such as entrances, reception areas, security booths and lift lobbies.
12. Conduct regular temperature screening and declarations for all onsite employees and visitors. Employers must keep declaration records for all employees and visitors for at least 28 days for inspection purposes.
13. Adherence to travel advisories
14. Ensure employees do not clinic-hop and guard against incipient outbreaks
15. Management of unwell cases: An evacuation plan must be prepared for unwell or suspected cases, as well as for other onsite personnel.
    1. Any employee who is feeling unwell or showing symptoms of illness should report to his employer, leave the workplace and consult a doctor immediately, even if symptoms may appear mild. Employers must track and record these cases as part of Safe Management Measures.
    2. For incapacitated or unconscious individuals, employers must clear the area of other personnel and administer aid immediately. Employers should call 995 for an emergency ambulance to ferry them to the nearest hospital.
16. Management of confirmed cases: A follow-up plan must be put in place in the event of a confirmed case. Upon being notified of a confirmed case, employers must adopt the following precautionary measures:
    1. Immediately vacate and cordon-off the immediate section of the workplace premises where the confirmed case worked. There is no need to vacate the building or the whole floor if there had been no sustained and close contact with the confirmed case; and
    2. Carry out a thorough cleaning and disinfecting all relevant on-site areas and assets that were exposed to confirmed cases, in accordance to NEA guidelines.

Advisory on retrenchment benefit payable to retrenched employees as a result of business difficulties due to COVID-19

Summary of business support measures offered by governments in Enterprise Singapore's overseas markets

Inter-agency advisory on supporting mental well-being of workers under COVID-19 work arrangements

The measures will cover relevant contractual obligations that are to be performed on or after 1 February 2020, for contracts that were entered into or renewed before 25 March 2020. The Bill will cover the following contracts:

a) Leases or licences for non-residential immovable property (e.g. lease for factory premises);
b) Construction contract or supply contract (e.g. contract for the supply of materials);
c) Contracts for the provision of goods and services (e.g. venue, catering) for events (e.g. weddings, business meetings);
d) Certain contracts for goods or services for visitors to Singapore, domestic tourists or outbound tourists, or promotion of tourism (e.g. cruises, hotel accommodation bookings); and
e) Certain loan facilities granted by a bank or a finance company to SMEs.

The Bill will prohibit a contracting party from taking the following legal actions against a non-performing party:
a) Court and insolvency proceedings;
b) Enforcement of security over immovable property as well as movable property that is used for the purposes of business or trade;
c) Call on a performance bond given pursuant to a construction contract; and
d) Termination of leases of non-residential premises.

THE CURRENT COVID-19 SITUATION IN THE UK

When you arrive in the UK, you will not be allowed to leave the place you’re staying for the first 14 days. Separate advice is available if you will self-isolate in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 

Before you travel, you should provide your journey, contact details and the address where you will self-isolate. You will be able to complete the public health passenger locator form 48 hours before you arrive. You may be refused permission to enter the UK (if you are not a British citizen), or fined if you do not to provide your contact details or do not self-isolate when you arrive in the UK on or after 8 June 2020. In England, if you do not self-isolate, you can be fined £1,000. If you do not provide an accurate contact detail declaration – or do not update your contact detail form in the limited circumstances where you need to move to another place to self-isolate – you can be fined up to £3,200.

When you arrive in the UK, go straight to the place you’re staying. Only use public transport if you have no other option. If necessary, and you have a long journey within the UK to arrive at your self-isolation accommodation, you can stop overnight in safe accommodation before continuing your journey. You must self-isolate and provide the address of your overnight stop on your public health passenger locator form.

You should self-isolate in one place for the full 14 days, where you can have food and other necessities delivered, and stay away from others. You must self-isolate at the address you provided on the public health passenger locator form.

This can include:

• your own home
• staying with friends or family
• a hotel or other temporary accommodation

You should not have visitors, including friends and family, unless they are providing essential care. The only friends and family who you can have contact with are those who travelled with you or people who you are staying with. 

For full details visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-how-to-self-isolate-when-you-travel-to-the-uk/coronavirus-covid-19-how-to-self-isolate-when-you-travel-to-the-uk.

THE CURRENT GLOBAL COVID-19 SITUATION