24 Mar 2020
Singaporeans who intend to proceed with travel to China, despite the Singapore Ministry of Health’s Public Health Travel Advisory on 18 March 2020 advising Singaporeans to defer all travel abroad with immediate effect, should take note that the Civil Aviation Administration of China has announced that starting from 23 March 2020 at 0000hrs, all international flights bound for Beijing will be diverted to the following 12 first points of entry: Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Hohhot, Shanghai Pudong, Jinan, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian, Zhengzhou and Xi’an. Passengers on these international flights will undergo health and customs/immigration checks as well as baggage checks at the first points of entry. Passengers who pass the medical checks can thereafter fly to Beijing on the original flight. Otherwise, they may be subject to quarantine in their first points of entry. In view of this development, Singaporeans travelling from Singapore to Beijing are strongly advised to check with their respective airlines on the updated flight plans before they proceed with travelling.
Singaporeans travelling to China, or those currently in China and considering travelling to other provinces within China, may be subject to home or institutional quarantine for 14 days, depending on the province that they are travelling to. Singaporeans transiting from international to domestic flights in China may also be subject to swab tests and will have to wait for the test results at the transiting airport (which can take up to 24 hours) before they are allowed to board their next flight. Before travelling, Singaporeans are strongly advised to check with the local authorities, as well as the hotel or residential compound that they will be staying in, on the quarantine and other policies that they should adhere to.