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Work pass holders who travel to Daegu, Cheongdo in last 14 days need MOM's approval to enter Singapore

A passenger wearing a mask sits at a photo spot at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea on 25 February, 2020. (PHOTO: Reuters)
A passenger wearing a mask sits at a photo spot at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea on 25 February, 2020. (PHOTO: Reuters)

SINGAPORE — All work pass holders and their dependants with travel history to the South Korean city of Daegu and Cheongdo county within the last 14 days will need to get approval from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) before entering Singapore, given the surge of coronavirus cases there.

This will take effect from Wednesday (26 February) at 11.59pm, said the ministry in a press release on Tuesday night.

The entry approval requirement applies to existing work pass holders, regardless of their nationality, who are currently not in Singapore as well as in-principle approval holders who have yet to enter Singapore.

All affected work pass holders who are allowed to return to Singapore from Daegu and Cheongdo will be placed on a mandatory 14-day stay-home notice barring them from leaving their residence during the period.

When applying for entry approval, employers will be required to declare to the MOM that they have arranged for suitable premises to house these returning employees for the duration of their notice.

Employers are required to apply for entry approval online, which will be made available from Wednesday at 8am.

They should inform their affected employees – including their dependants – not to make travel plans to Singapore until approval has been received from the ministry.

The employers will also be required to send the MOM approval letter to the employees who will need to show it to the airline staff upon check-in and at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s checkpoint when they arrive here.

14-day stay-home notice to be compiled with

Both employers and work pass holders have a joint duty to ensure that the 14-day stay-home notice is complied with, said the MOM.

The work pass holders should monitor their health closely and seek medical attention immediately if they develop any fever or symptoms of acute respiratory illness such as cough or shortness of breath.

During the period, they can make their own arrangements to procure their daily necessities, such as meals and daily essentials. These could include requesting their house or dormitory mates to help procure the items for them, or ordering home delivery services.

Employers are responsible to ensure that their work pass holders serving the 14-day notice can obtain meals and other daily essentials.

If a work pass holder is unable to make his own arrangements, the employer will have to do so. If support from employers is not forthcoming, work pass holders should report their difficulties to the MOM.

The ministry said it will not hesitate to take enforcement measures against errant employers or employees who do not comply with the requirements, including the revocation of work passes and withdrawal of work pass privileges.

The MOM’s announcement came shortly after the multi-ministry taskforce on the virus announced that it will be banning all visitors with recent travel history to Daegu and Cheongdo from entering or transiting through Singapore.

All Singapore residents with recent travel history to both places in the last two weeks must also serve the 14-day stay-home notice.

Since 9 February, all work pass holders with travel history to mainland China within the last 14 days are required to obtain the MOM’s approval before they return to Singapore.

The ministry on Monday said that it has rejected about 500 such applications per day since the implementations of the new measures, to manage their inflow into Singapore.

The MOM also said it has approved an average of 220 applications daily and revoked the work passes of 11 workers who entered Singapore despite failing to obtain approval from the ministry.

The workers were sent back and permanently banned from working here. Their employers’ work pass privileges have also been suspended for one year.

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