Singapore lifts all restrictions, Hong Kong opens to non-residents (with quarantine)
Singapore and Hong Kong, the two Asian megacities were supposed to be the first to reopen their borders to tourists, already [...]
Singapore
Hong Kong
Singapore and Hong Kong, the two Asian megacities were to be the first to reopen their borders to tourists, as early as late 2020 there was talk of a tourist corridor to enable travel between the two nations, however, more than 2 years later, they are living in a diametrically opposite situation.
The situation in Singapore
In this article:
Singapore has reopened its borders last fall with the VTL protocol and, as of April 26, removed all remaining restrictions for vaccinated travelers headed to the Asian city-state. In recent months, the rules have changed, and by last March, almost all requirements to authorize travel had been eased.
Now the time has come when Singapore announced the removal of all rules, or rather the only remaining rule, which is the need to take a pre-departure PCR swab before embarking.
The country will also remove most mask-use rules, while the Trace Together and SafeEntry apps are to be used only at large events with more than 500 attendees, night clubs, restaurants and bars.
The situation in Hong Kong
Diametrically opposed is the situation in Hong Kong: hermetically sealed borders for two years and "imprisonment" for citizens and aircraft crews.
A first pale sign of reopening, however, has arrived. Starting May 1, the ban on non-residents will be lifted. Visitors will have to comply with the strict anti covid protocol that includes: pre-departure swabbing, swabbing upon arrival at the airport, and isolation in special facilities for one week.
After the 7 days have passed and two more covid tests have been carried out, you will be able to move freely around the city.
In conclusion
The two steps by which Singapore and Hong Kong have traveled these past 24 months have convinced thousands of people and companies to leave the former British protectorate and move to Singapore. Cathay Pacific, the national carrier, Forced his crews into a crazy life to be able to work and obviously lost billions of dollars and millions of passengers because of the ban on even transit flights.
