'Covid-resilient' Singapore aims to start quarantine-free travel
FILE PHOTO: Cabin crew speak to participants during a tour of the Singapore Airlines Training Centre in Singapore November 21, 2020, as part of a series of initiatives to re-engage customers who have not been able to travel due to the coronavirus.
Singapore is set to allow quarantine-free travel from September with the country set to fully vaccinate 80 per cent of its population over the next two months.
"There is no need to wait for everyone to be vaccinated before we begin to open up. That would mean holding back the entire reopening timeline until much later in the year, which is not tenable,” the country's finance minister Lawrence Wong told Parliament.
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Wong added that Singapore will establish travel corridors with countries where the virus is under control with vaccinated people maynot be needed to quarantine and will be allowed to isolate at home.
Reports say half the country has been vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. At least 75 per cent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
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“While other countries may have come to terms with a certain level of COVID-19 cases and even deaths, this is not the choice we want to make in Singapore,” Wong said.
The country has witnessed a surge in coronavirus cases last month with COVID-19 clusters in karaoke lounges and ports as authorities quickly moved to combat the sudden outbreak by limiting gatherings and banning dining in restaurants.
Police began investigating nightspots for breaching coronavirus rules which stipulated bars to restrict operations while providing food and drinks.
The new cases were due to the spread of the Delta variant, authorities said.
Singapore government is now aiming to become "Covid-resilient" with authorities set to review virus curbs next month.
Wong added that vaccinated people may be able to travel without serving the mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine on their return to the country once key vaccination levels are reached with testing becoming the new benchmark forthe government.
The finance minister said hospitalisations and ICUcases will be closely monitored by authorities while warning that the government may have to "pull back" plans if cases and hospitalisations rise.
The country has recorded 64,179 coronavirus cases and 37 deaths so far with 1,537 active cases currently and 12 cases of serious illness.
(With inputs from Agencies)