| Update: File this under r/agedlikemilk because Singapore has just announced quarantine-free travel to and from Germany. It’s a small step, but it’s the right direction. |
In July this year, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced in parliament that Singapore would implement SHN-free travel for vaccinated individuals in early September, contingent on 80% of the population getting fully vaccinated.
“We will also begin to reopen our borders, especially for vaccinated persons to travel. We will start by establishing travel corridors with countries or regions that have managed COVID-19 well, and where the infection is similarly under control. So fully vaccinated persons will then be able to travel to these countries or regions without needing to serve the full 14-day SHN in a hotel when they return.
Depending on the risk level of the country they visit, we will either replace the SHN with a vigorous testing regime, or shorten the SHN to 7-days at home. This will allow vaccinated persons to travel more freely.”
In line with this, MOH subsequently announced that from 21 August, fully-vaccinated travellers from Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland would be allowed to serve their 14-day SHN at home, instead of in a dedicated facility. This led me to speculate that these countries would be first in line for a 7-day or waived SHN from September onwards.
So far so good. But just yesterday, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong suggested in an interview with Bloomberg that the goal was now a pilot program for business and leisure travel, on a controlled itinerary.
*record scratch sound*
I don’t know what to make of this, quite frankly. To put it mildly, it’s radically different from what most people had in mind for September. SHN-free travel was dangled as a carrot to get vaccinated, and while I’m sure that will happen eventually, there’s a sense of frustration that it seems to have become later rather than sooner.
Singapore’s updated reopening plans
Bloomberg reports that Singapore is in talks with Germany, Australia, Canada and South Korea to establish pilot programmes for vaccinated business and leisure travellers. Visitors will have to stick to “carefully controlled itineraries”, as explained below by Gan Kim Yong:
“In the pilot, we are likely to focus more on business travel, but beyond business travel, we are also looking at the possibility of leisure travel, particularly to those safer countries, those with a lower infection rate,” he said. “We will need to pilot-run some of this with an organised itinerary, probably with organised tour groups, to be able to find ways to bubble-wrap them for the journey and with specific designated places that they can visit.”
Here’s the thing: with greatest respect to the bird park, I don’t think Singapore is attractive enough a destination for tourists to visit on a controlled itinerary. I mean, heck, you could offer me Rome and I wouldn’t be keen if it meant just the Colosseum, hotel, and inside of a tour bus.
Moreover, I don’t think business travellers will bite either. After all, the much-heralded Connect@Changi facility has gone completely quiet following its unceremonious suspension in late May. It saw a mere 120 bookings in its brief existence, and I’d wager it hasn’t quite been the success its creators originally envisioned.
And maybe that shouldn’t come as much of a shock. Business travel is more than just meetings (which can be done on Zoom anyway); it’s about networking, socialising and building relationships- something that “bubble wrapped” itineraries and acrylic screens don’t exactly foster. Concepts like Connect@Changi entail all the expenses of business travel (flights, accommodation, time) with few of the benefits, and I’d be very surprised if it were ever expanded to its planned full capacity of 1,300 business travellers.
So it’s puzzling why small-scale controlled itineraries are now being mooted as the way forward. Even if the idea is to take baby steps (and there’s nothing wrong with that), wouldn’t it make more sense to start by opening to just one or two countries, without movement restrictions? An electronic travel authorisation scheme could help control the number of arrivals, and while it’s not quite frictionless, it’s still better than controlled itineraries.
What about SHN free travel for September?
One could argue that these pilot programs still meet the definition of “SHN-free travel in September”, but that would be disingenuous.
The fact is: SHN-free travel was never broached in such terms back in July, and certainly not with so many caveats. There was no talk of pilot programs or controlled itineraries; simply read, Lawrence Wong’s comments gave the impression that vaccinated Singaporeans could travel to selected countries and return with no SHN, or a shortened one at most.
“Depending on the risk level of the country they visit, we will either replace the SHN with a vigorous testing regime, or shorten the SHN to 7-days at home. This will allow vaccinated persons to travel more freely.”
Don’t get me wrong. Even if travel weren’t a carrot, I’d still get vaccinated anyway. I got my first jab on 11 June, the day after it opened to my group and well before any differentiated measures were announced. But for those who were on the fence, the current situation feels like a case of shifted goalposts, or bait and switch.
While the decision to return to P2HA in July was unpopular, I understood the argument that we needed to buy a little more time to get our vaccination figures up from 50%. Singapore had just kicked off its accelerated vaccination programme, and we’d see the benefits shortly.
Such a conservative approach is harder to justify now. If anything, Singapore is safer than it was back in July, with 77% of the population having completed the full vaccine regimen and climbing. ICU cases are in single digits, less than three dozen require oxygen supplementation, and vaccination rates among the most vulnerable groups are well above 80%. If this isn’t enough, what will be?
Conclusion
It’s probably wishful thinking that Singapore will adopt a controlled itinerary system for tourists and business visitors, while allowing its own residents to travel overseas and return without SHN. That wouldn’t make sense anyway, since the risk profile would be similar for, say, a German resident coming to Singapore, and a Singapore resident returning from visiting Germany.
While nothing’s set in stone, the latest developments have made me much less optimistic about SHN-free travel actually materialising in September. It’s a confusing turn of events, to say the least. We know vaccines work, so why are we acting like they don’t?
SHN-free travel in September- what’s your take?
The govt doesnt care so much abt leisure travel…to them the utmost importance is business travel…e.g trade shows and events.
The question is whether business travellers will be content to visit if they have to abide by tightly controlled itineraries.
Even if leisure i doubt many will come
who will want to dine in with restrictions, no alcohol after 2230, no nightlife, masks on outside
dio pian? (kena bluffed)?
This flip-flop and the overall handling of COVID in the 2nd half of 2021 give me very little confidence in the so-called 4G government and Singapore’s future. May be the start of the gradual decline of the country.
master prata flippers
I also feel that way. COVID-19 is the start of the end of Singapore as a global city, the end of a glorious 200 years.
It’s partly due to the 39% also.
“all talk, no action” – you are still suprisied? important business visitors (e.g. WEF dude at Capella) can already visit Singapore, what’s the change anyway?
I doubt that we can see leisure travel this year. From what I have seen so far, it seems that the endemic COVID-19 strategy is just all talk. We are still fortifying Singapore as a COVID-free bunker like the rest of Asia is doing.
I will see the hope of leisure travelling resuming if we can finally not wear masks when we are outdoors.
I never believed this was real in my opinion. My wife is a cabin crew and crew have to stay in their hotels with trackers when they layover.
With this level of scrutiny and fear, it seems unlikely that they would open up.
Just my opinion, but it was a line said by Sg govt to make the youth rush to vaccinate.
I’ve got to question what the hell Singapore is thinking recently – at nearly 80% fully vaccinated you should be opening up like the rest of the world. Rolling lockdowns and still requiring masks outside?? It’s like you’re ignoring science and sticking with 2020 mentality to avoid loosing face. I feel sorry for you guys.
“We know vaccines work, so why are we acting like they don’t?” – sums it up perfectly….
cos vaccines dun work as well as hoped? Vaccine breakthroughs happening overseas and also in Singapore
while there are breakthrough infections and transmission by vaccinated individuals, the data still shows that vaccines dramatically reduce serious illness and death- which is the all important measurement. that should be what determines reopening, not mere case numbers
September is still some days away. We should wait and see.
Its all about risk and appetite which Asian and Oceania countries in general has next to none compared to our Western counterparts. The world have to accept the fact that Covid 19 infections wont go away and until this mindset is unilaterally accepted and embedded across leaders globally I dont see how SHN free leisure travel can take place. There is simply no trust and political will to do it for many.
Once the world stops the clock on the Covid case counts and treats it like an influenza, perhaps there might be more motivation to do it.
A controlled itinerary could work in places like the Maldives
if other countries do not open up for leisure travel, got SHN or no SHN is a moot point. We are too small and cannot really dictate terms to those big countries to open for leisure travel. We need them more than they need us.
The countries that will welcome us with open arms I think will be the ASEAN countries but would you want to travel to those countries? Malaysia is literally crying out for the causeway to open.
actually, there are a lot of countries that will accept vaccinated singapore residents already. refer here: https://blog.wego.com/covid19-travel-restrictions-by-destination-country/
I would gladly go.. if not for the 14 day SHN otw back
I guess the government is still contemplating if the benefits of opening up can outweigh the risks. We all hoped we could achieve herd immunity by vaccination, but this strategy might not work with Delta.
It’s not just delta. Herd immunity is generally nigh impossible if an illness becomes contagious before it is even symptomatic – no time for even the immune system of a vaccinated person. What we have to accept is that everyone will contract covid sooner or later, and if we can expect the unvaccinated elderly to pass away with a 20% rate. This is very back, but given that they can get the vaccine, not really a reason to close the world off indefinitly
You are right. It’s the hard truth. But the 39% don’t really think so.
Other countries are able to watch sporting events with fully packed stadiums 75k capacity, Premier League football etc. And here we are, sticking to 5 pax dining etc. So disappointed in the govt
with no music or sport on TV
for the record, i’m no fan of the UK’s “freedom day” approach, lifting every last restriction willy nilly. but there has to be some middle ground between that and what we have right now.
The way UK does things is basically.
1) Vaccinated
2) Alr got it
3) wait to get it..
aka herd immunity..
He didn’t look very good in that Bloomberg interview. I wouldn’t read too much into it. They will hardly announce a change of direction in a foreign news outlet
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/singapore-to-watch-for-rising-covid-19-infections-as-it-gears-up-to-restart
he then put it in writing on linkedin. i don’t think we can just brush it off.
There are 3 persons in contention for the PM post. Whoever screws up lose the chance. Hence so “kia-si”
Singapore has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world based on this: https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&time=2020-03-01..latest&facet=none&pickerSort=asc&pickerMetric=location&Metric=People+vaccinated+%28by+dose%29&Interval=7-day+rolling+average&Relative+to+Population=true&Align+outbreaks=false&country=USA~GBR~CAN~DEU~ITA~IND~SGP~THA~MYS~FRA~CHE~DNK~IDN~AUS~NZL~KHM~VNM~ESP~HKG~IRL The MTF say that want to open up ad allow travel but in reality it seems that not the case. Many of us didn’t expect the return to dine in so perhaps the MTF will surprise us again and allow travel although I doubt it. There needs to be an exit strategy that is clear to see and understood and sadly we don’t currently have that. The 80% is almost there so what else needs to happen to allow travel? A point to note is… Read more »
Australia, NZ, Vietnam and Brunei which previously had Covd well controlled are now battling COVID outbreaks. I’m hoping for Q1 2022….
Haha fool
Do we really know vaccines work… Israel is going through surges and reinstating lockdowns. There’s 3rd dose ongoing and this when we just gotten the 80%. We’ll be chasing this 80% to be boostered shot before we know it.
Israel never reached 80%. Not even 60% by now.
69.1% according to reuters covid19 tracker
Oh, then there’s a delay in Our World In Data source
Past 6 months of government’s flip flops and contradictions have led me to all but lose confidence in their ability and courage to open up for leisure travel. So instead of just waiting to see where I can go without hotel shn quarantine on return, i’ll just go to where i really want to and able to go – S Africa, Nambia and Zambia fof 3 months and return and do whatever is required at that time. Bear in mind that things do change suddenly so you might yet get check mate even if you travel to the goverment ‘approved… Read more »
Sigh, my plan for 2020 was Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Vaccines work. The data is irrefutable. But it does not work 100%. If we are waiting for something better, then we need to know what that is. If this is as good as it gets (and it is so much better than before), then we need to decide. And act.
And the government acted. It allowed vaccinated people to dine in even with around 50 cases daily and more than 10 unlinked cases daily, which is unimaginable without high level of vaccination. Just accept that free leisure travel will not be high on government agenda for quite a while.
Wow this post aged really fast… 🙂
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/fully-vaccinated-travellers-can-travel-to-germany-and-back-without-serving-shn
This post didn’t age well. Lol
i have never been so happy in my life to be wrong.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/germany-brunei-travel-lane-fully-vaccinated-shn-hong-kong-macao-2122796
No SHN required. You should have waited for the announcement.
Unilateral, it doesn’t go both ways. Of these countries only Germany that does not require Singapore residents to quarantine with negative PCR. HK and Macau needs us to quarantine eventhough we are vaccinated and tested negative. This changes nothing besides Germany, we are being generous for no reason.