Singapore plans to allow Quarantine free travel from September

Singapore is planning to relax travel restrictions imposed due to pandemic, including starting to allow quarantine-free travel in September. It is expected by Singapore to have fully vaccinated 80% of its population by then, placing the nation in a solid position to move forward with reopening, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong told Parliament on Monday.

Wong said, "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. Waiting for 100 per cent population to get vaccinated would mean holding back the entire reopening timeline until much later in the year, which is not tenable."

"The answer is a clear no. We are determined to get to our destination of being a Covid-resilient Singapore. But our journey must take into account public health realities," Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong said in a separate speech. "Sometimes, we may need to take a detour if we see hazards ahead. This way we can ensure that we will get to our final destination safely, even though it may take a little longer", he added.

"Authorities will review existing virus curbs in early August based on factors such as the overall infection rate. A positive outcome will allow the government to ease some of the measures but only for vaccinated people", Wong said.