Omicron: Singapore to further augment testing regime for air and land VTL

SINGAPORE: Singapore will further augment its testing regime from Dec 7 to travelers entering Singapore via both the air and land Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL), amidst growing transmissions of Omicron globally.

According to the republic's Ministry of Health (MOH), all travelers on VTL will be put on a daily testing regime over 7 days using Antigen Rapid Tests (ARTs).

MOH noted that on Days 3 and 7, the tests will have to be done under supervision at a Combined Test Centre (CTC) or Quick Test Centre (QTC) while the rest of the days will be on their self-administered ART.

The current testing protocol for air VTL travelers is to take an On-Arrival PCR test, followed by supervised ART tests on Days 3 and 7 while for land VTL a Pre-Departure Test and an On-Arrival ART.

"We expect to see more Omicron cases being reported globally in the weeks to come. We are coordinating with health authorities globally to study and understand the Omicron variant," MOH said in a statement today.

"While we do so, we will further augment our testing regime for travelers. Should the Omicron variant be more transmissible than Delta and become the globally dominant variant over time, it is a matter of time before it establishes itself in Singapore," it said.

MOH added that the additional measures will help to buy time to learn more about dealing with Omicron and to continue with its booster program to strengthen its collective resilience for better protection against the new variant.

Singapore had on Thursday (Dec 2) preliminarily detected two imported COVID-19 cases with the Omicron variant.

-- BERNAMA