Covid-19: Air travel bubble with Hong Kong to begin on Sunday as planned, says Singapore

Concerns over the bubble had risen over a ‘fourth wave’ of Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong. On Friday, the Hong Kong government announced several measures to control the virus’ spread.

The uncertainty surrounding the high-profile Hong Kong-Singapore air travel bubble has eased after Singapore’s civil aviation authority on Saturday announced that its planned travel bubble with the former British colony will commence on Sunday as planned, despite a surge in Hong Kong’s cornovarius disease (Covid-19) cases.

“Hong Kong has a comprehensive public health surveillance system and the overall incidence rate is still low,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement on Saturday, explaining why the travel bubble would proceed ahead as planned.

Hong Kong reported 45 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, its highest daily count in three months, a day after reporting 26 cases, of which 21 were local.

The uncertainty surrounding the bubble had risen after Hong Kong on Friday announced several measures to control what authorities here described as a probable “fourth wave” of Covid-19.

“Hong Kong’s epidemic has shown rapid deterioration and experts have said the fourth wave is inevitable,” secretary for food and health Sophia Chan had said in a briefing on Friday. “We have done a series of measures to strengthen control, but we still see the situation turning bad,” she had further said.

Various measures announced by the Hong Kong government to control the virus’ spread include suspension of classes for primary school levels 1 to 3 for two weeks starting November 23, as well as mandatory mass testing among certain groups.

Commenting on the situation, the CAAS had said on late Friday it was working closely with the Singapore health ministry to “gather the facts.” Responding to queries on whether the air bubble would indeed proceed ahead as planned, it said, “The Singapore and Hong Kong governments are in close contact on the situation.”

Hong Kong and Singapore had entered talks over a possible air travel bubble last month and, last week, confirmed November 22 as the start date of the bubble. This arrangement between the two financial hubs is the world’s first quarantine-free travel arrangement open to all residents. Under the agreement, the travel bubble would be suspended for two weeks once the seven-day moving average of local, untraceable cases on either side rise to over five.

Hong Kong’s figure is currently at 2.14 and will be exceeded if more than 22 unlinked cases are reported over the next three days, the CAAS said,

(With agency inputs)