Severe penalty for using someone else’s vaccine cert: Minister
Ong Ye Kung urges those not vaccinated to take a pre-event test if they have to go for a dinner or event
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has warned against using another person's vaccination certificate in order to dine at restaurants, saying the authorities are aware this is happening.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Mr Ong said: "The authorities will enforce against this, and offenders will face (a) severe penalty. It is not worth it. Take a PET if you have to attend a dinner or event."
A PET refers to the pre-event Covid-19 test, which costs about $20 and is valid for 24 hours.
Under the gradual easing of rules that began on Tuesday, people who have not been fully vaccinated are required to take a PET to dine at a restaurant or foodcourt.
This differentiated approach is aimed at protecting those who have not been vaccinated, as the consequences of their contracting the virus can be much more severe.
Yesterday, Mr Ong added that people with a negative test result are still not protected from infection and should be careful.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a separate announcement on Tuesday that those who have recovered from Covid-19 in the last 270 days will still need a valid PET exemption notice if they wish to dine at a food and beverage establishment.
It said recovered individuals are not automatically considered to be in the same category as fully vaccinated individuals.
People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the full regimen of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, Moderna, or any vaccine on the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Emergency Use Listing, such as AstraZeneca, Janssen, Sinopharm, or Sinovac.
The ministry said this week that residents who were vaccinated overseas with any of the vaccines under the WHO's list have to provide documentary proof and take a blood test at an approved provider to confirm their vaccinations have been effective.
Upon a positive serology test, their vaccination records will be updated in the National Immunisation Registry (NIR) and reflected on the TraceTogether and HealthHub apps.
A separate process is being worked out for short-term visit pass holders who were vaccinated abroad so that their vaccination status can be included in the NIR.
NO HARD COPIES
"Hard copies of overseas vaccination certificates will not be accepted for the vaccination-differentiated safe management measures," said the ministry.
"This is because it will be difficult for individual establishments to verify the authenticity of these certificates which are issued in different formats and languages."
MOH said those who received the Sinovac vaccine here can access their vaccination records on the HealthHub app.
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