Coronavirus: Singapore treads carefully on path to full reopening; Philippines eases face-shield mandate

Singapore’s reopening steps include resuming pilot business events, sports and live performances, alongside its quarantine-free ‘vaccinated travel lanes’

Elsewhere, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said face shields will no longer be required in many areas – easing a mandate few other countries had adopted

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Singapore is trying to tread a path of reopening to rebuild its status as an international hub while keeping a tight lid of infections. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:23am, 16 Nov 2021Updated: 10:23pm, 16 Nov 2021

With 85 per cent of its population fully inoculated, Singapore is trying to tread a path of reopening to rebuild its status as an international hub while keeping a tight lid of infections that may overwhelm its health care system.

Passenger traffic at Changi Airport, Asia’s second-busiest for international flights last year, was just 2 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the first nine months of the year.

While Singapore Airlines has been losing money because of the pandemic, the city state’s quarantine-free “Vaccinated Travel Lanes” programme is already benefiting its flag carrier. The airline carried 165,000 passengers in October, up from 136,000 a month earlier.

Singapore’s flag carrier is already benefiting from the city state’s quarantine-free travel lanes. Photo: Reuters

Other reopening steps include allowing more migrant workers who have been confined to their dormitories to rejoin the community – from 3,000 vaccinated workers per week to 3,000 per day.

Singapore is also piloting the resumption of business events as well as sports and live performances with vaccinations and testing. This begins with the Milken Institute Asia Summit and Bloomberg New Economy Forum this week, followed by a two-day charity concert later this month.