Bloomberg "Singapore Withdraws Travel Bubble with Hong Kong at the Last Minute"

"Singapore Seems to Have Urgently Withdrawn Due to Concerns Over COVID-19 Resurgence"

Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] On the same day that the announcement was made about the implementation of quarantine-free travel (travel bubble) between Singapore and Hong Kong, it was revealed that Singapore withdrew from the travel bubble.

On the 22nd, Bloomberg News cited sources and reported this, adding, "The future implementation date has not yet been decided."

Singapore's Ministry of Transport and Hong Kong's Commerce and Economic Development Bureau did not issue any specific statements regarding this report.

Previously, Singapore and Hong Kong had reached an agreement to implement the travel bubble aiming for November last year, but the implementation was postponed once due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in Hong Kong at that time.

Because both Hong Kong and Singapore are characterized by small domestic markets, their mutual interest in encouraging overseas travel to promote economic recovery aligned, leading to renewed efforts to implement the travel bubble.

Earlier this month, Ong Ye Kung, Singapore’s Minister for Transport, said, "We expect the announcement of the travel bubble agreement with Hong Kong to be made soon," indicating that discussions between the two countries were progressing smoothly. According to Bloomberg News, the two countries had effectively reached an agreement aiming for implementation next month and planned to officially announce it on the 22nd. Even on the 21st, the day before the scheduled announcement, Singapore announced a measure to reduce the quarantine period for citizens returning from Hong Kong from 14 days to 7 days.

However, as signs of a COVID-19 resurgence appeared in Singapore, the need to strengthen lockdown measures was raised. On the 22nd, Singapore authorities announced that 11 confirmed cases were detected at a dormitory of a logistics company. The COVID-19 spread in Singapore last year mainly occurred within the low-wage migrant worker community, and this time again, confirmed cases emerged in migrant worker residential areas.

Due to the characteristics of being a small city-state, even a small number of confirmed cases can easily lead to virus spread, so authorities are on alert following the additional confirmed cases on this day. The recent emergence of variant viruses is also a concern for health authorities.

Ultimately, due to concerns over the COVID-19 resurgence, Singapore withdrew from the travel bubble on this day, making the implementation of the travel bubble between the two countries uncertain. Bloomberg News reported, "There are signs of virus resurgence in areas mainly inhabited by migrant workers," and "amid speculation that authorities will withdraw easing measures, Singapore unilaterally canceled the implementation of the travel bubble."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.