Singapore and Malaysia will from August 10 implement a reciprocal green lane for cross-border travel between both countries, according to a press statement from both ministries of foreign affairs. In a joint statement by Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan, both sides agreed to implement what they called the “Reciprocal Green Lane” (RGL) and “Periodic Commuting Arrangement” (PCA). The RGL allows cross-border travel for essential business and official purposes only but remains subject to Covid-19 preventive guidelines, including undergoing polymerase chain reaction swab tests. Singapore staycations can’t fill US$20 billion hole in tourism industry Travellers must submit to the authorities of the receiving country a “controlled itinerary and adhere to this controlled itinerary during their visit”, according to the joint statement. The PCA, meantime, allows Singapore and Malaysia residents, who hold long-term immigration passes for business or work purposes in the other country, to enter that country for work. They must work consecutively in that country for three months before being allowed to return home for short-term leave. “Officials in Malaysia and Singapore are working expeditiously toward the targeted implementation of RGL and PCA on August 10, 2020. This will give the opportunity for the relevant agencies of both governments to continue their consultation to finalise the standard operating procedures of the two initiatives,” the statement said. Both sides said health protocols and the application process will be published 10 days before the implementation date. Malaysia was the first to shut its border on March 18 after a spike in coronavirus cases saw the daily infection rate in the triple digits then. The outbreak has been successfully contained thus far the with daily infection rate down to the single digits. The total number of cases is over 8,700, with 122 fatalities, compared to Singapore, which has reported more than 46,000 cases and 26 deaths. Additional reporting by Bloomberg