Singapore (VNA) - Singapore will roll out a new stay-home noticefor its residents and long-term pass holders returning from mainland China aspart of efforts to respond to the acute respiratorydisease caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

They will be required to stay at home at all times for 14 days, according to Ministerof National Development Lawrence Wong.

He said the new scheme will take effect from 23:59 on February 18, and apply toall returnees with recent travel history to China, outside of Hubei province,within the last 14 days.

This will be stricter than the current leave of absence (LOA), which allowthose returning to leave their homes briefly for their meals or to buyhousehold supplies.

The stay-home notice is given in the context that there are a substantialnumber of Singaporean nationals and long-term pass holders still in China, andthey will come bank to Singapore in the coming time.

Wong said the measure is suitable at present as it will help reduce the numberof COVID-19 infected cases.

Enforcement officers will carry out random calls and spot checks, among othermeasures, to ensure that those serving out the stay-home notice comply withrequirements.

There are penalties for those who flout the rules, Wong said, giving foreignersmay get their work or long-term passes revoked while Singaporeans could beprosecuted under the Infectious Diseases Act. Under the Act, first-time offenderscan be fined up to 10,000 SGD (7,100 USD), jailed for up to six month, or both.

Meanwhile, a network of 900 designated clinics is being activated progressivelyfrom February 18 to help Singaporean authorities better detect and manage thevirus outbreak.

There have been a total of 77 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the nation.

While in Thailand, health authorities have extended coronavirus screening tocover visitors from Japan and Singapore while denying entry to passengers andcrew of the MS Westerdam cruise ship which is now berthed in Cambodia.

According to Permanent Secretary of the Public Health Ministry SukhumKanchanapimai, the screening method will be the same as that used on passengersfrom Wuhan. Earlier, intensive screening was already in place for arrivals frommainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

On February 17, Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul announced the banon passengers and crew from the ship from entering Thailand. The decision cameafter an 83-year-old US female passenger tested positive for COVID-19 onarrival in Malaysia.

He had ordered all Thai airlines not to issue boarding passes toanyone who had been on MS Westerdam for the next 14 days.

The ministry also advised Thai citizens to postpone their trips to Singaporeand Japan as the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing in the two countries.

Thailand’s COVID-19 cases have risen to 35 so far, while no deaths have beenreported./.