Singapore and Hong Kong’s long-delayed travel bubble is set to begin on May 26. The move aims to re-establish overseas travel links and ease the burden of quarantine for travellers.
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The bubble between two of Asia’s biggest financial hubs had been put off since last November due to a spike in coronavirus cases in Hong Kong.
SG-HK Travel Bubble to Formally Begin Next Month
Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Ku and Hong Kong’s Commerce Secretary Edward Yau announced that the scheme will begin with one flight a day into each city, with up to 200 travellers on each flight, the Travel Weekly Asia reported.
Those who wish to travel from either city must test negative for COVID-19 before departure and on arrival. Moreover, Hong Kong residents can only fly to Singapore at least 14 days after they have had two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, travellers on the route – which attracted 15-20 flights a day each way before the coronavirus – won’t have to quarantine and there will be no restrictions on the purpose of travel.
The state representatives noted, however, that if the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases is more than five for either Singapore or Hong Kong, the scheme will need to be held off.
Yau shared: “The re-launch … signifies that gradual resumption of cross-border travel is achievable through mutual collaborations among different places.”
In line with this, the two Asian countries are also communicating with places including New Zealand and Australia for similar travel bubbles. The scheme was made possible as the two Asian cities have brought the local virus situation largely under control compared with other developed cities.
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