Singapore, Germany agree to start ‘green lane’ for business travellers amid pandemic

Singapore and Germany have agreed to start a reciprocal “green lane” allowing travel for business or official reasons, the latest step by governments to prise open borders largely sealed by the coronavirus.

Residents of both countries will have to follow virus prevention and public health measures, according to a joint statement on Friday. Operational details, including health protocols and application processes, will be announced in due course. The agreement could serve as a model for future ones between Singapore and other countries in Europe.

With coronavirus cases easing in Singapore, the city state has been working on re-establishing travel links to help reboot its economy and aviation industry. On October 15, Singapore and Hong Kong announced they planned to reopen their borders to one another for the first time in almost seven months, though no firm date has been set yet. That arrangement, which includes leisure travel, could start with one daily flight between the two Asian financial hubs.

Singapore’s arrangement with Germany comes despite an uptick in infections in the European country, with health officials warning the virus could spiral out of control there. Germany registered 12,331 cases in the 24 hours through Thursday morning, the first time daily infections exceeded 10,000. That daily figure is more than twice the number of infections Hong Kong has reported in total.