The much-awaited Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble officially burst as both governments announced to drop all plans for the bilateral agreement. Discussions on the Air Travel Bubble (ATB) began in the latter part of 2020 but launch plans have been postponed several times. The last scheduled launch for the ATB was in May but it was once again suspended due to an uptick in Covid-19 cases in The Lion City.
Both cities have decided to halt the agreement because of differing anti-epidemic strategies. Under the initial agreement, the ATB will be suspended if the seven-day moving average of unlinked community cases in either city increases to more than five. According to the Hong Kong government with Singapore currently moving towards a new strategy of building a ‘Covid-resilient’ nation, the basic premises that underpin the ATB have changed.
Though the travel bubble is no longer happening, Hongkongers may soon travel to Singapore without the need for quarantine, regardless of their vaccination status since Hong Kong falls under ‘very low risk countries and regions’. The same applies for Mainland China (except Jiangsu province), Macau, New Zealand, and Taiwan. Travellers from Hong Kong will be allowed to enter Singapore quarantine-free starting August 21.
But since Singapore falls under ‘medium-risk’ Group B specified places in Hong Kong, unvaccinated inbound travellers returning from Singapore will have to undergo compulsory quarantine for 21 days while vaccinated travellers will have to quarantine for 14 days in a designated hotel.
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