Singapore Ready For A New Normal Life With COVID-19, PM Lee Hsien Loong: We Must Not Be Afraid

PM Singapura Lee Hsien Loong. (Wikimedia Commons/Cherie A. Thurlby/United States Department of Defense.)

JAKARTA - Singapore is opening its borders for more countries to travel quarantine-free, as it prepares to live a new normal of life with COVID-19, while seeking to re-establish its status as an international aviation hub.

From October 19, fully vaccinated people from eight countries, including Britain, France, Spain and the United States, will be able to enter the island without being quarantined if they pass a COVID-19 test, the government said on Saturday.

The announcement marks a major step in Singapore's strategy to continue international relations.

Singapore, one of the world's largest travel and financial hubs, is home to the Asian headquarters of thousands of global companies whose executives have long relied on Lion Country connectivity.

The country of 5.45 million people has reported a record daily COVID-19 infection of more than 3.000 over the past few days, although nearly all cases are asymptomatic or mild.

Meanwhile, about 83 percent of the country's population has received the full COVID-19 vaccine, one of the highest rates in the world.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore would reach a new normal and could ease restrictions when cases stabilize, even if the number remains in the hundreds.

"We will need at least three months, and maybe as long as six months, to get there," Lee said in his speech.

"Once this spike stabilizes, we may still see spikes in the future, especially if a new variant emerges. We may have to hit the brakes again if cases grow too fast, to protect our healthcare system and healthcare workers."

The government will tighten rules for those who remain unvaccinated from Wednesday, barring them from entering malls and eating at hawker centers everywhere in the country. A review of some of the COVID-19 restrictions will also take place in a week or two.

Meanwhile, Singapore's travel program for fully vaccinated people started in September with Germany and Brunei and will cover South Korea starting next month. Read more

At least 3.000 travelers will be able to enter each day via vaccinated travel routes, a far cry from the record 19.1 million travelers to the city-state in 2019. However, Singapore's borders remain largely closed to major Asian countries.

Please note, Singapore is discussing two-way quarantine-free travel with several more countries, the government said.

"We look forward to further easing of measures and the expansion of the reopening of Singapore's borders, spurring other markets to navigate their path to restarting air travel," said Philip Goh, vice president Asia-Pacific for the International Air Transport Association.

Separately, Singapore Airlines said in a statement that it plans to expand its network of vaccinated travel routes to 14 cities.

"Let us carry out our daily activities as normal as possible, taking the necessary precautions. We must respect COVID-19, but we must not be paralyzed by fear," the Singaporean PM said.