Singapore has revealed it is in discussions with South Korea and Australia to resume international travel.
In what has been labeled “green-lane” arrangements, Singapore hopes to restart essential travel with countries that have managed to control the COVID-19 situation domestically.
The move comes after the announcement that transit passengers will be gradually allowed into Singapore’s Changi Airport beginning 2 June.
New Zealand and Malaysia are two other nations also involved in green-lane discussions with Singapore. The People’s Republic of China is the first to successfully establish the green-lane arrangement with Singapore, which will begin this month.
According to The Straits Times, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing explained, “Reciprocal green lane agreements means there must be a mutual assurance of each other’s test protocol and standards.”
If each country insists on testing travelers and implementing a 14-day quarantine, they will be subject to two swab tests and a month under quarantine.
Minister Chan believes that countries involved would need to have confidence in the protocol the other state has employed. Both nations must “co-ordinate quarantine orders” so testing or quarantine orders will occur once. For now, Singapore is in discussions with multiple countries – albeit bilaterally.
On 29 May, Singapore managed to establish a green lane with six provinces under the Chinese government; Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The Straits Times also reported that China and Singapore are focusing on “securing the connectivity of production and supply chains” and enabling the flow of medical supplies and food.
Australia and South Korea have been recognised as countries that have been able to implement strategies and cautionary measures to control the spread of coronavirus in their communities as Singapore has. This allows travel to be a much more viable option as further measures can be implemented to reduce risk of new cases from travellers to minimal levels.
