Infectious Diseases Act 1976

Infectious Diseases Act 1976 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act relating to quarantine and the prevention of infectious diseases. [1 August 1977] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Infectious Diseases Act 1976. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “Agency” means the National Environment Agency established under the National Environment Agency Act 2002; “appropriate Minister” means — (a) in the following cases, the Minister charged with the responsibility for health and sanitary measures in relation to vessels, aircraft, vehicles and persons entering or leaving Singapore: (i) the establishment of any advisory committee under section 5 for the purpose of giving advice to the Director‑General of Public Health or the Director‑General, Food Administration; [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] (ii) any purpose relating to sections 28, 29 and 33 to 45, including the making of subsidiary legislation in relation to any of those sections; or (b) in any other case, the Minister charged with the responsibility for regulation of diseases and disease control; “at-risk individual”, in relation to an infectious disease, means an individual who — (a) is or appears to the Director-General of Health or a Health Officer to be — (i) a contact in respect of the infectious disease; or (ii) a carrier of the infectious disease; (b) has undergone a medical examination in connection with the infectious disease but has not received a conclusive result of that medical examination; (c) enters Singapore (by land, sea or air) from a country or territory outside Singapore during a period when there is an outbreak or suspected outbreak of the infectious disease in that country or territory; or (d) is deemed to be infected with a dangerous infectious disease under section 27(1) or (2); [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “baggage” means the personal effects of a traveller or of a crew member of a vessel; “Board” means the Health Promotion Board established under the Health Promotion Board Act 2001; “building” means any house, hut, shed or roofed enclosure, whether intended for the purpose of human habitation or otherwise, and any wall, gate, post, pillar, paling, frame, hoarding, slip, dock, wharf, pier, jetty, landing-stage or bridge; “carrier”, in relation to any infectious disease, means any person who is harbouring or is likely to harbour the agents of that disease; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “contact”, in relation to any infectious disease, means any person who has been exposed to the risk of infection from that disease; “contact tracing measure” means any measure to facilitate the tracing of contacts or other at-risk individuals of an infectious disease; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “crew” includes any person who is on board a vessel not for the sole purpose of travelling from one place to another but who is employed in the vessel’s service or in connection with its cargo; “dangerous infectious disease” means any of the diseases set out in the Second Schedule; [Deleted by Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Deleted by Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] “Director‑General of Health” means the Director‑General of Health and includes a Deputy Director‑General of Health; [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] “Director‑General of Public Health” means the Director‑General of Public Health appointed under section 3(1) of the Environmental Public Health Act 1987; [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] “Director-General, Food Administration” means the Director‑General, Food Administration appointed under section 3(1) of the Sale of Food Act 1973; “guardian”, in relation to a minor or an individual who has any intellectual disability or otherwise lacks capacity within the meaning of section 4 of the Mental Capacity Act 2008, means the person responsible for the daily care of the minor or individual; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “Health Officer” means a Health Officer appointed by the Director‑General of Public Health, the Director‑General, Food Administration or the Director‑General of Health, under section 4; [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Deleted by Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “HIV” means Human Immunodeficiency Virus; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “individually-identifiable”, when used to describe information or samples pertaining to a person, means that the identity of that person can be readily discovered or ascertained from that information or sample; “infected” means infected with the micro‑organism or agent of an infectious disease; “infectious disease” means — (a) any of the diseases specified in the First Schedule; and (b) for the purposes of sections 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21C, 21E, 21H, 55, 57A and 59A, includes any other disease — (i) that is caused or is suspected to be caused by a micro‑organism or any agent of disease; (ii) that is capable or is suspected to be capable of transmission by any means to human beings; and (iii) that, the Director-General of Health has reason to believe, if left uninvestigated or unchecked, is likely to result in an epidemic of the disease; [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “isolation”, in relation to a person or group of persons, means the separation of that person or group of persons from any other persons, other than — (a) the health staff in charge of the care and isolation of that person or group of persons; and (b) such other persons as the Director‑General of Health or the Director‑General of Public Health (as the case may be) may allow; [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] “master”, in relation to a vessel, means the person for the time being in charge or command of the vessel; “medical examination” includes — (a) the carrying out by a person (called the examiner) of any of the following measures, with a view to ascertaining another person’s state of health, whether or not the examiner is present with the person being examined: (i) physical examination of the person; (ii) obtaining the person’s bodily samples; (iii) obtaining images of, or measuring, the person’s physiology; (iv) measuring or monitoring the person’s physiological signs; (v) obtaining the clinical history of the person; (vi) a test or a series of tests that is or are capable of ascertaining the presence of an infectious disease; (vii) any measure to facilitate the carrying out of anything in sub-paragraphs (i) to (vi); and (b) the carrying out by a person on himself or herself of a test or a series of tests that is or are capable of ascertaining the presence of an infectious disease; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner registered or exempted from registration under the Medical Registration Act 1997; “minor” means a person who is below 16 years of age; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “nurse” means a registered nurse or enrolled nurse within the meaning of the Nurses and Midwives Act 1999; “occupier”, in relation to any premises or vessel, means the person in occupation of the premises or vessel or having the charge or control thereof either on the person’s own account or as an agent of another person; “owner” means — (a) in relation to any premises or vessel — the person for the time being receiving the rent of the premises or vessel whether on the person’s own account or as agent, trustee or receiver or who would receive the same if the premises or the vessel were let or chartered; (b) in relation to any vehicle that is the subject of a hiring agreement or a hire-purchase agreement — the person in possession of the vehicle under that agreement; or (c) in relation to any other vehicle — the registered owner of the vehicle; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “PHE Order” means an order made under section 21E(1) declaring a public health emergency; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “PHT Order” means an order made under section 21C(1) declaring a public health threat; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “port” means any place in Singapore and any navigable river or channel leading into such place declared to be a port under the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Act 1996 and includes an airport; “Port Health Officer” means any Health Officer in charge of a port and includes his or her deputies and assistants; “pratique”, in relation to a vessel, means the written permission granted by a Port Health Officer to the vessel to disembark and commence operation; “pre-departure test”, in relation to a person arriving in Singapore on an international voyage, means a test performed on or by the person to determine whether the person is a case or carrier of an infectious disease — (a) in the case where the person is entering Singapore in a vehicle by land — before boarding the vehicle; (b) in the case where the person is entering Singapore on foot — before arriving in Singapore; or (c) in the case where the person is entering Singapore on a vessel by air or sea — before boarding the vessel; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] “premises” means messuages, buildings, lands, easements and hereditaments of any tenure whether open or enclosed, whether public or private and whether maintained or not under statutory authority, and includes any place or structure or any part thereof used or intended to be used for human habitation or for employment or any other purpose; “public place” means any place or premises to which the public or any section of the public has access, on payment or otherwise, as of right or by virtue of express or implied permission, and includes any place or premises used by the public or a section of the public for educational or recreational purposes or for assemblage; “quarantine” means the compulsory detention in isolation for the purpose and under the provisions of this Act of any ships, persons, goods, things, animals or plants; “quarantine anchorage” means any area of the port which has been appointed for the time being for the quarantine of vessels and declared to be a quarantine anchorage by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore; “quarantine station” means any island, building or place where quarantine is carried out; “surveillance” means subjecting a person or persons to medical examinations or observations carried out over a period of time (whether or not continuously) and includes carrying out any measures to facilitate those medical examinations or observations; “vessel” means any ship, boat, aircraft or a vessel of any description used in navigation by sea or air. [10/2008; 5/2019; 11/2019] Parent or guardian to comply with requirements, etc. 2A.—(1) This section applies if a person who is — (a) a minor; or (b) an individual who has any intellectual disability or otherwise lacks capacity within the meaning of section 4 of the Mental Capacity Act 2008, is — (c) required to comply with any requirement, direction, notice or order made or given in accordance with any provision of this Act; or (d) prohibited or restricted from doing anything in accordance with any provision of this Act. (2) Where written notice of any matter set out in subsection (1)(c) or (d) is to be given to the minor or individual, that notice may also be served on — (a) in the case of the minor — (i) one of the minor’s parents; or (ii) where the minor is in the care of a guardian who is not the minor’s parent, the minor’s guardian; or (b) in the case of the individual — the individual’s guardian. (3) If a parent or guardian of the minor or individual is served with a written notice under subsection (2), the parent or guardian must ensure that the minor or individual complies with the requirement, direction, notice or order or does not contravene the prohibition or restriction, as the case may be. (4) A person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to — (a) in a case where the penalty upon conviction of an offence by a person for failing to comply with the requirement, direction, notice or order, or for contravening the prohibition or restriction, is expressly provided — the same penalty; or (b) in any other case — the penalty provided in section 65. [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024]