Risk Assessment Report – 21 April 2021

Regional Update

• The Thai government has confirmed it is adopting a vaccine passport scheme, to provide vaccinated residents with proof of COVID-19 inoculation. The vaccine passport will be an official document which can be used by vaccinated people travelling abroad. In order to be valid, the vaccine passport must be signed by an approved disease control official.

• Vietnam is considering the implementation of vaccine passports for three groups of vaccinated people such as Vietnamese stranded abroad, foreign business travelers and foreign travelers. While the plan is in consideration, no date for the implementation has been set yet.

• Singapore’s Ministry of Health said it is reviewing its border measures for recovered travellers, and will closely monitor for reinfection of recovered COVID-19 cases. According to the country’s Ministry of Health (MOH) on April 20, a new local COVID-19 cluster involving three cases has been linked to a man who was "probably reinfected" in India. This case is a 43-year-old Indian national and work pass holder, arrived in Singapore from India on April 2. He tested positive for COVID-19 in an on-arrival swab test and was taken to a hospital. He was discharged four days later on April 6, without being required to further isolate, as he was deemed to be no longer infectious. According to the ministry, the patient was discharged based on his high Ct value that indicated a low viral load, a positive serology test result on April 4 that indicated a past infection, as well as a negative pre-departure test taken on March 31. After consulting an expert panel comprising infectious diseases and microbiology experts, MOH assessed that he was likely reinfected with COVID-19 recently.