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Journey searches for Germany after Singapore’s vaccine journey lane

Singapore to lift quarantines for some travelers from Germany, Hong Kong

A Singapore Airlines aircraft is parked next to Scoots passenger aircraft on the tarmac of the Changi International Airport terminal in Singapore on March 15, 2021.

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Interest in traveling between Singapore and Germany skyrocketed after the announcement of a so-called vaccinated itinerary between the two countries, which means vaccinated travelers can skip the quarantine.

Popular online travel booking site Expedia said that Friday afternoon searches for trips from Singapore to destinations in Germany increased almost ten times the average for the past seven days.

There is also great interest in traveling from Germany to Singapore, it said. “While Singapore was never among the top 10 travel destinations for German travelers, it was interesting to see that interest in traveling from Frankfurt and Munich to Singapore has increased by 70% in the past 24 hours,” said Lavinia Rajaram, APAC -Communication manager at Expedia, in a Friday statement.

“With the launch of the Vaccinated Itinerary Program, it will certainly bode well for those who are already vaccinated and have the desire to travel, and will give the travel industry a welcome boost,” added Rajaram.

Singapore’s vaccinated travel route with Germany was announced on Thursday by the city-state, which extended the initiative to Brunei as well.

Applications for quarantine-free travel to Singapore from Germany or Brunei will be open from September, but are subject to certain conditions. Fully vaccinated people traveling to Singapore are required to take four Covid tests – one two days before departure, one on arrival, one on the third day, and another on the seventh day.

Further conditions for traveling to Singapore from Germany or Brunei are:

  • Travel on designated non-stop flights for the vaccinated itinerary (VTL);
  • Stay in Germany or Brunei for 21 consecutive days before the flight;
  • Download a contact tracking app in Singapore.

On ticket prices, Expedia’s Rajaram added that airlines offering flights under the program have announced “competitive prices”.

Still, Rajaram said, “It is too early to say if prices will rise in the next few days – but we can expect demand to grow closer to Christmas time.”

The search queries for trips from Hong Kong and Macau are also increasing

Singapore had also announced that travelers from Hong Kong and Macau can now apply for a flight pass to travel to Singapore regardless of their vaccination status.

They don’t have to be in quarantine either, they have to take a Covid test upon arrival in Singapore and self-isolate until they get a negative test result, Singapore authorities said.

Search queries for trips to Singapore from the two Chinese territories also increased after the announcement – by almost 450%, according to Expedia.

“This comes as no surprise to us as travelers in Hong Kong (HK) have been eagerly hoping for this first vacation trip. Singapore is still a top destination for Hong Kong travelers in the second half of the year, ”said Expedia.

– Abigail Ng of CNBC contributed to this report.

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Health

Singapore’s overseas minister says Covid will not go away fully

Singapore's foreign minister says Covid won't go away completely

Crowds thronged Singapore’s Orchard Road shopping belt to prepare for the festive season on December 12, 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Zakaria Zainal | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

SINGAPORE – Covid-19 is “permanent” and subsequent waves of infection will occur normally in the coming years, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told CNBC.

“Covid-19 is endemic to humanity, which means it will never go away completely,” Balakrishnan told CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia on Monday.

“And the reason it won’t go away completely is because it’s spread around the world, has sufficient critical mass, the rate of mutations and new variants continues, and the level of human immunity increases and decreases as well,” said he said.

The minister, who was a doctor before entering politics, also warned that now could be a “more dangerous time” for vaccinated people who might be complacent, as well as those who are not vaccinated and have no protection against Covid.

Balakrishnan said vaccination is critical and that people who have received Covid shots develop fewer symptoms and have fewer serious illnesses, even when infected. However, vaccination alone is not the panacea for an “exponential explosion” in Covid cases.

That means measures such as social distancing and border restrictions may have to “come and go” in response to waves of Covid infection over the next two years, the minister said.

Singapore tightened social restrictions over the weekend after the number of cases increased in the community. Cumulatively, the country confirmed more than 61,300 cases and 31 deaths on Sunday, data from the Ministry of Health showed.

Balakrishnan said around 20% of Singapore’s population has been vaccinated, but the government has no defined threshold for achieving “herd immunity”. He explained that with the emergence of new variants of Covid, the level of protection required in a community will change so that the disease no longer spreads quickly.

It is likely that immunity to vaccinations will also decrease over time. So the point is, you can’t wait to say that you have reached the magical figure and suddenly you are immune and the mask has taken off and there are no restrictions.

Vivian Balakrishnan

Singapore’s Foreign Minister

“As new variants evolve and these new variants actually appear to be more contagious than the original strain, the level of herd immunity will mathematically change,” Balakrishnan said.

“It’s likely that immunity to vaccinations will also wear off over time. So the point is, you can’t expect to have reached the magical figure and suddenly be immune and mask off and not have any restrictions,” said he added.

Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble

Singapore is a Southeast Asian city-state with no domestic air travel market. The country has reached an agreement with Hong Kong – a city that also has no domestic flight market – to create a travel bubble that will allow travelers to skip the quarantine.

When CNBC asked if the program should start on May 26th, Balakrishnan said, “As of now, the plan is yes, but we have to see how the situation develops over the next few days.”

The launch of the air travel bubble – originally scheduled for November 2020 – has been postponed several times after a surge in coronavirus cases in Hong Kong.

The two cities announced last month that the program will begin with one flight per day to each city with up to 200 travelers per flight.

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Health

Singapore’s Covid scenario might begin to enhance in weeks: Professor

Singapore's Covid situation may start to improve in weeks: Professor

SINGAPORE – Singapore is facing the largest local outbreak of Covid-19 infection in months. However, according to Dale Fisher, chairman of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, the situation could improve in the coming weeks.

“We believe we can break the transmission chains,” he told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia on Wednesday.

“With quite a sophisticated and thorough contact tracing, along with quarantining the contacts and isolating the cases, I would have confidence that the situation will improve in the next few weeks,” said Fisher, who is also a professor at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore.

Singapore’s new cases in the community rose from 11 the week before to 64 in the past week, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday.

The country’s multi-ministry task force announced Tuesday that stricter restrictions would be in place from May 8-30. The Straits Times index fell 1.04% on Wednesday afternoon.

Variants in the community

Authorities also said the “double mutant” variant of Covid – first detected in India – was found among locally transmitted cases. This B.1.617 strain is believed in part to be to blame for India’s rising caseload, which has marginalized its healthcare system as hospitals run out of beds and oxygen.

Fisher said it was difficult to determine how much of an impact each variant can have on how the virus is transmitted.

While there is “good evidence” that many variants “increased portability”, this is not the only factor.

“It’s also about all of the different measures that are in place and actually those measures work. It’s just … this version of the virus is less forgiving of violations,” he said.

It’s about shutting down clusters, stopping transmission chains and living with (the virus) instead of having a … blunt shutdown.

Dale Fisher

Professor at the National University of Singapore.

He noted that some cases were confirmed after the 14-day quarantine was completed. Singapore has extended the quarantine period for travelers from higher risk countries to 21 days.

However, it’s not clear whether the incubation period is longer for variants of the virus, said Fisher, who added that there may also be false negative Covid test results – meaning that a person is actually sick with the disease but the test does indicate that she is not infected.

“Trust” in Singapore

Still, he said he has “a lot of confidence” in Singapore’s systems and believes the country is taking the right approach by not going into lockdown.

“It’s about shutting down clusters, stopping chains of transmission and living with (the virus) instead of having a … blunt shutdown,” he said. “We are aware of the social and economic consequences.”

On vaccinations, Fisher said Singapore likely leads the rest of Asia in terms of the proportion of its population that received at least one shot. “I think we’re getting there steadily,” he said. “Very high levels of nationwide vaccination are expected by October.”

As of April 18, more than 2.2 million doses of the vaccine had been administered in Singapore, the ministry said. The country reported 16 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 61,268.

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Business

Vaccines are Singapore’s precedence however will not be silver bullets, minister says

Vaccines are Singapore's priority but are not silver bullets, minister says

SINGAPORE – Singapore needs a “range of measures” beyond Covid vaccinations to open up its economy and allow international travel, said S Iswaran, the country’s minister of communications and information.

Some of these measures could include testing for Covid-19, he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum’s Global Technology Governance Summit.

“The way we see it, this has to be a series of measures. Vaccinations are essential, but not silver bullets,” he said. “We need this to be complemented by a strong, robust test regime and effective safe management measures.”

He said such solutions are important in the future, “whether they open up the economy further” or enable cross-border activities or travel, Iswaran said.

People wearing protective masks prepare to enter a mall in the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore.

Suhaimi Abdullah | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The minister said vaccines were a “national priority” and would help Singapore return to pre-Covid economic activity. However, this process would involve small steps over time rather than large and sudden change.

“It’s going to be more of an evolutionary than a revolutionary process,” he said.

That should be the case worldwide, he added. “The way we move forward … is measured and calibrated to allow for cross-border flows of people.”

Digital passport

We see that ultimately you need an effective vaccination program and then you need to develop mutual recognition of those vaccination programs.

S Iswaran

Singapore Minister for Communication and Information

Iswaran said vaccination records are open to interpretation and “maybe even misinterpretation”.

“The way we see it, ultimately you need an effective vaccination program, and then we need to develop mutual recognition of those vaccination programs,” he told CNBC.

This needs to be done bilaterally and multilaterally so that countries can remember to open their borders, he added.

The overall situation in a country or region will also be a factor as it affects risk perception, the Singapore minister said.

According to the Ministry of Health, transmission in the Singapore community has been low and has stabilized at around two cases per week over the past two weeks.

The Southeast Asian nation has reported 60,495 confirmed cases and 30 deaths as of April 5.

As of March 29, more than 1.3 million doses of the vaccine had been administered in the country. Around 375,605 people are fully vaccinated.