Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on COVID-19 Vaccination rates of Singaporean students studying abroad and efforts to ensure their safety, 3 November 2021

QUESTION

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) what are the COVID-19 vaccination rates of Singaporean students studying abroad; and (b) what are the current efforts in ensuring the safety of our students overseas in a COVID-19 world.

REPLY

                On part (a) of the query, we do not have statistics on the COVID-19 vaccination rates of Singaporean students who are based abroad.

2         The Singapore Government is mindful of the challenges faced by overseas Singaporeans, including our students based overseas, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been urging all Singaporeans to get vaccinated. Those who are leaving for overseas studies this year would have had the opportunity to be vaccinated in Singapore before they depart. We understand that some Singaporeans prefer to or may find it difficult to return to Singapore to be vaccinated. We have therefore launched two dedicated vaccination channels recently to make it more convenient for overseas Singaporeans, including our Singaporean students studying abroad, to return to Singapore for vaccination while minimising the time they are required to spend in SHN. As of 31 October 2021, we have received close to 250 successful sign-ups from overseas Singaporeans.

3      Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our Overseas Missions have pro-actively and regularly engaged Singaporean student communities to address their COVID-19 concerns and provided consular assistance to them if required. Our Overseas Missions have provided support and guidance to students who have contracted COVID-19 abroad or had to self-isolate due to being close contacts or from travelling. Such support includes keeping their next-of-kin in Singapore updated of their situation, and connecting the affected individuals with relevant student support groups for the provision of meals and medical supplies.

4         These regular engagements with our overseas Singaporean student community enabled our Missions to address in a timely manner any concerns raised by our students overseas and keep them abreast of the latest COVID-19 information so that they could remain safe and informed of public health and safety requirements, as well as developments in both their resident countries and Singapore. In view of the pandemic, Missions and the Singapore Global Network have increasingly leveraged social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Whatsapp, as well as local social media platforms like Weibo, to address students’ COVID-19 concerns, including their queries related to travel and border measures. MFA will continue to prioritise such regular engagement and the provision of timely consular assistance and advice to Singaporean students abroad, to ensure their safety and well-being. Once again, we will urge all Singaporean students abroad to e-register with MFA if they have not already done so.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

3 NOVEMBER 2021