Hong Kong and Singapore agree to open ‘travel bubble’ to allows citizens to travel freely between themselves

Hong Kong and Singapore had agreed ‘in principle’ to set up a bubble allowing residents to travel freely between the two financial hubs as long as they test negative for the coronavirus, allowing travelers of all kinds to bypass quarantine.

Under the agreement, travelers will be subject to conditions such as testing negative for Covid-19, and taking dedicated flights that do not accept transit passengers. For the moment the residents who travel won’t have restrictions on itinerary or purpose travel and the number of flights allowed will be altered according to how the pandemic’s situation goes in the two cities.

The two cities released joint statements announcing the deal which they said would be implemented within weeks. Edward Yau, Hong Kong’s secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, said that this ‘is a milestone in our efforts to resume normalcy while fighting against the long-drawn battle of Covid-19’. From Singapore, transport minister Ong Ye Kung said ‘I think it’s a significant step, a small step but a significant one because both Hong Kong and Singapore are regional aviation hubs’.

Singapore and Hong Kong have both managed to get their Covid-19 outbreaks under control, reporting daily new cases in the single or double digits since late August.

While the situation stabilized, Singapore has relaxed its restrictions; apart from the Hong Kong travel bubble, it has also agreed to re-open cross-border travel for essential business with Indonesia, and to partially reopen its land border with Malaysia for business travel. China was the first country to establish a green lane with Singapore, with Hong Kong placing at 10th to have made special travel arrangements with.