Right call not to impose curbs on visitors from China, says Shanmugam

S’pore must always put its interests first and not let others dictate what it does, he adds

When China ended its zero-Covid policy in December 2022, several countries imposed restrictions on Chinese visitor arrivals amid the surge in Covid-19 cases in China, but Singapore decided against it, to some criticism.

Experts here who studied the issue decided that although there were many cases, there were no new variants of concern.

The Republic was confident that its healthcare system would not be strained since not many visitors from China required hospitalisation, said Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam on Sunday.

"And so far, the call was correct. The number of imported Covid-19 cases from China is now fewer than five every week.

"In fact, we are in a position to increase the number of flights to and from China," said the minister, who was speaking at the annual Chinese New Year spring reception organised by the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan (SHHK) clan association.

In January, Parliament heard that Singapore will continue to maintain a "careful and calibrated" approach towards restoring air connectivity with China, and that the authorities were reviewing applications to operate more flights between the two countries.