“We've been through these many times – when the situation permits, we will relax some of the border measures, but when the situation changes as has happened now, we will tighten up,” said Wong. “And I think this recent tightening is a reminder to everyone that we cannot afford to let our guard down,” he added. The B.1.1.7 was responsible for 28% of infections in London by early November but the corresponding proportion shot up to 62% for the week ended Dec 9, prompting renewed lockdown measures. According to Wong, this new strain has not been detected in Singapore yet. Many European countries have similarly banned UK travellers. BioNTech, the German company that is partnering with Pfizer to develop the vaccine, is confident that a new vaccine versions could be produced within six weeks to counter new strains. Just on Dec 21, the first shipment of vaccines reached Singapore.