Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble in jeopardy due to spike in Singaporean cases

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE. The air travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore, scheduled to launch on 26 May, is again in jeopardy following a surge in Singaporean locally transmitted COVID-19 cases.

Singapore has posted 112 new domestic infections so far in May, compared with 55 cases in April and nine in March.

As reported, the first air travel bubble, slated for 22 November 2020, was thwarted at the 11^th hour by a surge in cases in Hong Kong.

This time the problem lies with the island state of Singapore, where authorities yesterday confirmed 24 locally-transmitted cases, the biggest daily jump since July 2020. The number of infections linked to a cluster at Changi Airport swelled to 46 – the largest of Singapore’s 11 clusters.

The Singapore government this week introduced a range of tough new social restrictions to try to eliminate the latest wave.

Changi workers who had been infected had mainly been working in an area that had received travellers from higher-risk countries, including those in South Asia, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said today in remarks quoted by The Straits Times.

As a result of the Changi cluster, all workers in Changi Airport’s Terminals 1 and 3 and Jewel Changi Airport (Jewel) have been undergoing mandatory COVID-19 tests in a special testing operation that started on 9 May.

Changi Airport passenger terminal buildings were closed to all non-travelling members of the public from 13 to 27 May. In addition, Jewel was closed for 14 days.

Changi Airport remains open for air travel during this period. Passengers may also continue to be dropped off and picked up from the airport.