Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (right) and Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein speak to the media after their meeting in Singapore, on May 2, 2021.- The StraitsTimes/ANN
SINGAPORE, May 2 (The Straits Times/ANN): There were 39 new coronavirus cases confirmed on Sunday (May 2), taking Singapore s total to 61,218.
Of these, 14 are from the community and there are none from the workers dorms.
Eleven of the patients from the community have been linked to the nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and were detected from the testing of patients and staff at the hospital.
In total, there are 27 cases linked to the TTSH cluster so far. It is the largest of nine active clusters in Singapore.
SINGAPORE - Travel on compassionate grounds between Singapore and Malaysia will be allowed from May 17, amid Covid-19 restrictions that ban the bulk of cross-border movement.
The details of such travel arrangements will be released later, but these will include steps like testing visitors for the coronavirus as well as the need for quarantine, said Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Sunday (May 2).
Dr Balakrishnan made the announcement together with his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who was on a two-day official visit to Singapore till Sunday.
Mr Hishammuddin said that the compassionate grounds would refer to situations when people on either side request to make trips across the border to be with those who are critically ill or to attend funerals.
SINGAPORE - Plans for Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to visit Singapore and meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have been postponed because of the escalating Covid-19 situation in both countries.
Announcing this on Sunday (May 2), Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, said the meeting between the two leaders, which was planned for Monday, was intended to revolve around the gradual resumption of cross-border travel.
The current situation in both countries, however, does not provide the right environment to discuss this, they noted.
Singapore has tightened measures due to a spike in cases in the community and the emergence of new clusters over the past week, while Malaysia has similarly announced it will review its Covid-19 protocols following a jump in cases over the past two weeks.
May 02, 2021
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (right) and Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein speak to the media after their meeting in Singapore, on May 2, 2021.
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE - Travel on compassionate grounds between Singapore and Malaysia will be allowed from May 17, amid Covid-19 restrictions that ban the bulk of cross-border movement.
The details of such travel arrangements will be released later, but these will include steps like testing visitors for the coronavirus as well as the need for quarantine, said Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Sunday (May 2).
Dr Balakrishnan made the announcement together with his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who was on a two-day official visit to Singapore till Sunday.
Will ensure that both leaders talk about it
According to
Bernama, Malaysia s Foreign Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told the media that he will make sure both leaders will talk about the issue, adding that the issue was discussed with Singapore s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in his visit to Malaysia in late March.
In a joint statement issued by both foreign ministries, Singapore and Malaysia said they are committed to restoring cross-border travel for other travellers in addition to the Reciprocal Green lane (RGL) and the Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA).
They also said they will further deliberate on the operational details regarding the recognition of vaccine certificate between both countries in order to facilitate cross-border travel in the future.