Singapore lifts quarantine for travelers from Macau, Hong Kong

Singapore is slated to lift its border restrictions for visitors from Hong Kong and Macau. Travelers will be able to apply for entry to the country as early as August 26.
The announcement was made by Singapore’s Transport Minister S. Iswaran yesterday, who also noted that Singapore will be unilaterally open to visitors from Hong Kong, which is in Category I.
Along with visitors from other very low risk countries and regions like mainland China (excluding Jiangsu province), New Zealand and Taiwan, visitors from Hong Kong will be allowed to enter Singapore with just an on-arrival polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
The unilateral opening was extended to visitors from Macau, which is also listed in Category I, the city-state announced.
“As you would be well aware, Singapore and Hong Kong have been in discussion on an Air Travel Bubble since last October, when vaccinations were not yet available. Unfortunately, we have not been able to launch the [travel bubble], due to the surge in community cases in both our cities at different points in time,” he recalled.
The minister also announced that, together with Hong Kong counterpart Secretary Edward Yau, they have concluded that the two regions will not be able to launch or sustain a travel bubble in its present form.
Regardless of the traveler’s vaccination status, Hong Kong and Macau tourists can apply for an air travel pass to enter Singapore.
They will be required to undergo a Covid-19 test upon arrival, and self-isolate until they receive a negative test result. However, these visitors should have spent the last 21 consecutives days in the SARs prior arrival.
Meanwhile, arrivals to Macau from Singapore are required to undergo a 21-day quarantine.
Also, Singapore will reopen its borders to arrivals from Germany and Brunei without the need to undergo quarantine under the so-called “vaccinated travel lane,” that will open in September.
“We will augment this framework with the launch of Vaccinated Travel Lanes for Germany and Brunei. This is a new modality in our reopening, which has been enabled by the progress in vaccination in Singapore and other parts of the world,” the minister explained.
“As an open and small economy, our connectivity with the rest of the world is essential, if not existential. That is why we need to start reopening. The longer our borders remain closed, the greater the risk of lasting damage to our economy, our livelihoods, and our status as an aviation hub,” the official added.
Singapore closed its borders on March 24 in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.