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HEALTH-SINGAPORE-DISEASE-TOURISM
Singapore may send back unvaccinated foreign travellers
SINGAPORE, June 27, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Singapore may start turning back
foreign visitors who do not have required vaccinations, authorities said, in
a bid to protect the tightly-controlled country from infectious diseases.
The country of 5.6 million people is a popular tourist destination, with
17.4 million visitors arriving in 2017. But its small size and openness have
sometimes left it vulnerable, and it was hit hard by the Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003.
Travellers are currently only required to be vaccinated against yellow
fever, in line with international regulations.
Authorities could require vaccinations against more diseases in future,
depending on the health situation at the time.
At the moment, visitors who have not been vaccinated can enter but on
condition they get the vaccine, and they may be put in isolation or under
surveillance.
However proposed legislative changes, which were published Tuesday by the
health ministry, would give authorities power to turn back unvaccinated non-
citizens to the country they came from.
The move is aimed at safeguarding the city-state from diseases like bird
flu, ebola and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, said the ministry.
“As a major global trade and travel hub, it is imperative that we remain
vigilant to public health threats… by protecting the community against new
and emerging infectious diseases,” it said.
The SARS outbreak in 2003 killed 33 people in Singapore, inflicted major
losses on the economy and hit the number of international visitors.
The ministry offered assurances that any new powers “will be exercised
judiciously” and that travellers arriving in Singapore while unwell would not
be turned away.
As well as having the discretion to deny entry to unvaccinated foreign
visitors, the proposed amendments would also enhance infectious disease
surveillance and strengthen controls within the country.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1621 hrs