SINGAPORE: Fifteen new COVID-19 cases were reported in Singapore as of noon on Friday (Mar 19).
All the new infections were imported and placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its preliminary daily update.
AdvertisementAdvertisementNo new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections have been reported in a week.
Details of the new cases will be released on Friday night, said MOH.
On Thursday, the foreign ministers of Singapore and New Zealand discussed the possibility of working together to mutually recognise digital health and COVID-19 vaccination certificates from other countries.
AdvertisementAdvertisementIn a Facebook post, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said as both countries embark on their respective vaccination programmes, such certificates would be an "important enabler for the resumption of international travel", echoing what Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earlier said in February.
[h=3]READ: Singapore develops new standard for cross-border verification of COVID-19 test results[/h]Mr Lee said then that Singapore was discussing the mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccine certificates with other countries, and that it was a "necessary step" for global travel to resume.
In February, Dr Balakrishnan, who is also the Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative, announced that Singapore had developed a “globally inter-operable” standard for cross-border verification of health documents using blockchain technology. The documents comprise of digital certificates for COVID-19 test results and one's vaccination status.
AdvertisementEarlier in March, Singapore Airlines became the first airline to test the International Air Transport Associations (IATA) Travel Pass - a mobile app that can verify a passenger's COVID-19 test results and vaccination status.
As of Friday, Singapore has reported a total of 60,167 COVID-19 cases and 30 fatalities.
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
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