Singapore intends to ease restrictions which prevent the movement of both its citizens and visitors to and from the city-state. Such a decision would effectively amount to authorise travel without quarantine in September. This is the first time that the government has officially announced a timetable for reopening the borders.. These have remained virtually sealed for 18 months.
The sine qua non condition is a complete vaccination rate of 80% of the population. This would give it almost total immunity. " This would put us in a strong position to go ahead with the reopening" said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong to Parliament on Monday 26 July.
This will allow the authorities to relax measures, in particular by authorising meetings more people fully vaccinated. Good news for MICE activities. The country will also be able to start reopen borders and establish travel corridors with other countries or regions where infections are under control.
" Other countries can make do with a certain level of Covid-19 cases and even deaths. That's not the choice we want to make in Singapore." reported the Bloomberg news agency, citing the Minister's speech. " At the same time, there's no need to wait for everyone to be vaccinated before starting to open up. This would mean postponing the entire reopening timetable until much later. Which is untenable" Lawrence Wong added.
Singapore trapped on its own territory
The government is also responding to a perceptible feeling of unease among the population, who do indeed feel cramped. Singapore as a state is made up of around sixty islands. But the vast majority of the population live on the main island, Pulau Ujong. With a surface area of 710 km2 (3.5 times smaller than Luxembourg), the population density is 7,804/km2. (compared with 245/km2 in Luxembourg). And with 50 km from east to west and 27 km from north to south, Singaporeans quickly reach the limits of the territory.
Singapore was affected by a new wave of Covid-19 in June and early July. due to the highly contagious Delta variant. But this wave should not, however, call into question the reopening of Singapore. A question of survival and image for the financial hub of South-East Asia.
When asked whether Singapore could fall back again, the Minister for Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yongwas peremptory in front of the parliamentarians. " The answer is clearly no. We are determined to achieve our goal of a Covid-resistant Singapore.. But our journey must take account of the realities of public healthsaid the Minister before Parliament. Sometimes we may have to take a diversion if we see dangers ahead. In this way, we can ensure that we arrive safely at our final destination, even if it may take a little longer." .
Vaccinated travellers likely to benefit
The relaxation measures are likely to apply to travellers who have been duly vaccinated.. According to Lawrence Wong, once the population has been inoculated with 80%, fully vaccinated Singaporeans will be able to travel. without having to endure a 14-day quarantine in a hotel on their return. This measure should also apply to foreigners. However, tests would still be compulsory, perhaps even a reduced quarantine at home.
A certain pragmatism seems to be taking hold within the government. Also during the debate in parliament, the Minister for Health, Ong Ye Kung, stated that Singapore was already changing some of its approaches to living with the virus. And that 200 or more cases a day would not be unusual in an endemic scenario. Decisions on the reopening of the island will be taken in August.
