Starting February 1 in 2022, foreigners who apply for work on a long-term period or reside in Singapore, and those who wish to renew employment visas will have to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Only children below 12 and those with conditions that cannot receive vaccines will be exempted, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Health’s statement.
The latest requirement was added to put pressure on those who opted not to receive any vaccination although previous measures have already prohibited them from entering public spaces. Singapore’s health authorities are also predicting that the Omicron variant will be much more dominant than Delta.
However, due to the less severity of Omicron symptoms and larger vaccination coverage and booster doses, fewer severe cases and deaths can be expected. According to the Ministry of Health’s data, the country has already detected 546 Omicron cases comprising 443 imported cases and 103 local cases.
To bolster protection against a large wave of cases and to keep workplaces safe, a compromise allowing the unvaccinated people to return to workplaces by undergoing a Covid-19 test will be revoked from Jan 15, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Health. (NNT)
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