Health

Hong Kong, Singapore establish travel bubble without quarantine

Hong Kong, Oct 15 (efe-epa).- Hong Kong and Singapore have agreed to establish a bubble of air travel between the two countries without the need for a coronavirus quarantine, the former’s government announced in a statement on Thursday.

The agreement was reached online between Hong Kong’s secretary of commerce and economic development Edward Yau and Singapore’s transport minister Ong Ye Kung.

It will help to resume flights between the two major financial cities in a “progressive and secure” manner, according to the statement.

Travelers will have to present a negative coronavirus test recognized by both sides but will not need to be quarantined once they enter the other territory.

“This agreement is a milestone in our efforts to resume normalcy while fighting Covid-19,” Yau said.

“Hong Kong and Singapore have been cooperating closely for a long time and on several fronts.”

He added that no transit passengers would be allowed on the same flights as the “bubble” passengers but that other details, including how soon before travel tests would have to be carried out and which airlines could be involved, had not yet been finalized.

Ong said the two cities each have a low rate of infection and that both have introduced “strong mechanisms” to control the contagion.

He added that this situation gave “the confidence to mutually and progressively open our borders to each other”.

Executives from both cities have committed to developing all the details and requirements of the travel bubble in the coming weeks, the statement added.

Related Articles

Back to top button