Singapore is expected to open “vaccinated itineraries” with more countries – but that doesn’t mean the country is taking significantly higher risks, Transport Minister S. Iswaran told CNBC on Monday.
The city-state announced last week that it will roll out more itineraries for vaccinated travelers from South Korea, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the US began in September.
The initiative enables quarantine-free travel for vaccinated people, but travelers must take Covid-19 tests to ensure they don’t contract the virus before entering.
Singapore will next consider similar travel arrangements with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and “many other countries” in the region, he added.
Reopening of international travel
Iswaran, who is also Singapore’s minister for trade relations, said the country’s existing initiative with Germany and Brunei only picked up two cases of infected travelers – out of 3,000 people who entered Singapore via what are known as VTLs in the first month.
“So when you combine that with compulsory vaccination, the vaccinated travel routes and cross-border flows that we allow don’t significantly increase the risk we take as a country,” he told CNBC. Squawk Box Asia. “
We are finding ways to safely enter international air traffic and regain and rebuild Singapore’s status as an international air traffic hub.
S. Iswaran
Singapore Minister of Transport
Iswaran responded to some criticism online that the city-state’s plans to reopen international travel ran counter to its decision to impose some new restrictions within the country.
Singapore said on Saturday it would tighten some Covid restrictions aimed at protecting those in need of protection such as the elderly and the unvaccinated. Those who are not vaccinated are no longer allowed to enter shopping centers, and even those who have been vaccinated are restricted to two people entering shopping centers.
The minister noted that the VTLs showed that only a limited number of infected cases entered the country, but that infections in the community had increased much faster – with a “significant proportion” spread through community activity.
On a “risk assessment basis” some of these activities need to be restricted while economic and general activity can continue “as much as possible” while at the same time imposing some “important restrictions”, Iswaran said.
By October 9, 83% of the population had completed two doses of a Covid vaccine.
However, the number of cases began to surge after some restrictions were relaxed, hitting a record high last week to hover above 3,000.
Last month, Singapore authorities tightened Covid measures again to reduce community broadcasts and prevent congestion in hospitals. The country has also started encouraging those infected with Covid with mild symptoms to self-isolate if possible.
Singapore wants to regain the status of a global air traffic hub
Iswaran said the introduction of the vaccinated itineraries was part of an effort to restore the city-state as an international air hub.
Before the pandemic, Singapore’s Changi Airport was one of the busiest in the world, handling 68.3 million passengers in 2019. However, according to local media, that dropped more than 80% to just 11.8 million passengers in 2020.
“What we are trying to do through our vaccinated itineraries with countries in North America, Europe and Asia is to make it clear that we are finding ways to safely open international aviation and Singapore’s status as an international air hub,” said Iswaran.
News of the expansion of the Conditional Itinerary Program made aviation-related stocks soar on Monday morning. Singapore Airlines gained 7.8%, while SATS – the groundhandling and in-flight catering services – gained 5.04%.
The total number of infections stands at 126,966 on Sunday with 162 deaths. However, 98.5% of those infected in the past 28 days had no or mild symptoms, according to the country’s health ministry.
