Mr Ong shared that Brunei and New Zealand were selected based on their control of the epidemic situation, with incidence rates well below 0.1 infections per 100,000 population. This reduces the likelihood of a case entering Singapore from either country.
Although Singapore is observing the case loads in these countries as a key determining factor for further negotiations, Mr Ong said the government will also gather input from medical experts on the trustworthiness of the numbers reported by different countries. Mr Ong referred to a list of countries for which Singapore will be shortening the SHN to seven days, and said they serve as a"reasonable starting point" for such plans. The territories on the list, shared by Education Minister Lawrence Wong earlier on Friday, are Australia Macau, mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia.