Coronavirus: Singapore cases highest in over a year; South Korea plans to ‘live more normally’ with virus
- Singapore on Wednesday reported 347 new Covid-19 cases, the highest since August 2020, as the first vaccinated German tourists arrived
- Elsewhere, South Korea plans to open up once it reaches its 80 per cent vaccination milestone, and Japan is expected to ease curbs in November
Wednesday’s number was the highest since early August 2020.
This came as the first planeload of Germans allowed into Singapore as part of a tentative reopening for coronavirus-vaccinated tourists arrived at Changi Airport on Wednesday afternoon.
Singapore last month said it would accept double-jabbed visitors from Brunei and Germany, starting in September. While the travellers must test negative for the virus, they do not have to quarantine.
Among the passengers on Wednesday’s maiden flight were Germany-based journalists invited by Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the Singapore Tourism Board.
The flight took longer than usual due to it having to avoid Afghan airspace, according to German reporter Andreas Spaeth, who was on board.
After closing its border during the first pandemic wave last year, Singapore began readmitting tourists, with strict quarantine rules, from a handful of countries, including New Zealand, Vietnam and regions in Australia and China, after it ended its sole pandemic lockdown in June 2020. The list has been amended several times in response to fluctuating coronavirus case numbers in countries of origin.