SINGAPORE – The Government is monitoring studies on the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines. It will consider relaxing stay-home measures for vaccinated travellers if the vaccines prove to significantly curb the spread of the disease, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19.

But for now, Singapore will continue to take a cautious approach, and vaccinated travellers will continue to be subject to the same border measures and stay-home requirements as non-vaccinated travellers, he added.

His remarks come amid the roll-out of vaccinations in some countries around the world, including Singapore, after governments approved the emergency use of several newly developed vaccines.

But it is still unclear how vaccines will impact travel, as much is still not known about how much the vaccines can reduce transmission and infection, and how long the effects will last.

Giving updates on Covid-19 in a ministerial statement, Mr Wong said the Government is closely monitoring several ongoing studies on the effectiveness of the vaccines in lowering the risk of transmission of the Sars-CoV-2 virus which causes Covid-19.

He noted that the main benefit of the vaccine is the protection it offers to those who are vaccinated.

This means it is likely to also reduce the spread of the virus, though the extent of the reduction is not currently known, he said.

“If there is clear evidence that transmission risks can be lowered significantly, then we will certainly consider some relaxation to the stay-home notice regime for vaccinated travellers,” he added.

He said that the Government will fine-tune its approach over time.

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