Singapore Makes Biggest Move Yet to Ease Travel and Mask Rules

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore will significantly ease Covid-19 curbs, lifting most restrictions for fully vaccinated visitors and a requirement to wear masks outdoors, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Travel-related stocks gained.

With the latest wave of the virus subsiding, Lee said that Singapore will double the group size limit to 10 people and allow up to 75% of employees who can work from home to return to their workplaces. The city-state will ease testing and quarantine requirements for travelers and lift a ban on alcohol sales in pubs and eateries after 10:30 p.m.

“Earlier, we were cautious because of uncertainty over Omicron’s impact,” Lee said in a televised speech, adding the domestic changes will take effect on March 29. “Taking all things into consideration, we believe that we are now ready to take a decisive step forward towards living with Covid-19.”

The move will give a much-needed boost to businesses, particularly the tourism sector, while the domestic and cross-border changes represent a major step towards living with Covid-19. “But they stop short of a complete opening up,” he said of the measures. “We remain watchful because Covid-19 may yet bring further surprises.”

Some key changes to travel rules announced Thursday:

• Starting April 1, Singapore will scrap its so-called vaccinated travel lanes and admit all vaccinated travelers who test negative before entering Singapore by air or sea and they will be exempted from quarantine or testing on arrival
• Almost all vaccination certificates, regardless of place of issuance and whether digitally verifiable or not, will be accepted as proof of vaccination
• Children aged 12 and below are exempt from the vaccination requirement

“This shift to the vaccinated travel framework is a decisive step for Singapore and an important signal to the world that Singapore has fully reopened its borders,” Minister for Transport S. Iswaran said. Singapore is “reclaiming Changi’s status as an international aviation hub,” he said.

Travel Stocks

The benchmark Straits Times Index extended its advance to 0.8%, reaching its highest since Feb. 23. Flag carrier Singapore Airlines Ltd. gained as much as 4.3%, set for its biggest jump since October. Taxi-fleet operator ComfortDelgro Corp. surged as much as 4.9%, while restaurant operator Jumbo Group Ltd. climbed up to 5%.

Singapore joins other Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, that are taking steps to allow vaccinated travelers to enter freely, replacing mandatory quarantine with Covid-19 testing. Senior officials have said Singapore is looking to restore passenger volume at Changi Airport to at least 50% of pre-pandemic levels by later this year, compared to 18.2% last week.

Singapore is still on track to hit its 3%-5% economic growth expectations for this year, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said earlier this week, though cautioned the war in Ukraine is a risk to global growth that could envelope the city-state as well. 

Boasting a 95% vaccination rate among the eligible population, Singapore is proceeding with its plans to treat the virus as endemic, pledging earlier this month to relax in stages virus curbs that have been in place since early in the pandemic.

The reopening in Southeast Asia has been slower than in other parts of the world such as Europe and the U.S., where wearing face masks and social distancing have been dropped after the best part of two years. 

“Wearing mask outdoors will now be optional,” Prime Minister Lee said. “This is because the risk of outdoor transmission is significantly lower. But indoors, masks will still be mandatory.”

Here are other significant changes announced Thursday:

• Indoor and outdoor live performances and busking will be allowed to resume
• F&B establishments won’t need to check vaccination status for groups of five, with random spot checks being done instead
• Larger-scale social gatherings including gala dinners, corporate dinner-and-dance events, birthday celebrations and anniversaries can go ahead
• Capacity limits of 50% for large events and settings of more than 1,000 people will be increased to 75%
• Second boosters will be recommended for those aged 80 and above and the medically vulnerable five months after their previous shot, with no plans for the rest of the population for now

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