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| Changi Airport |
The freezing of new ticket sales for vaccinated travel lane (VTL) flights and buses is an “essential and prudent measure” to protect Singapore’s public health, said Transport Minister S Iswaran on Wednesday (Dec 22).
In a Facebook post, Mr. Iswaran said that he understands that people might be “disappointed” by the changes to the scheme, which currently allows fully vaccinated travellers from 24 countries to enter Singapore without having to serve quarantine.
“As part of our careful and calibrated approach to border reopening, it is crucial that we tighten our safeguards when warranted by the public health risk assessment to protect the health and safety of our fellow Singaporeans, frontline aviation workers and travellers,” he said.
Mr Iswaran’s post comes after the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday that Singapore will pause ticket sales for VTL flights and buses between Dec 23 and Jan 20 next year.
He said that the Government had been “closely watching” the global development of the Omicron COVID-19 situation and decided to temporarily pause all new ticket sales, given the “rise” in Omicron cases.
Singapore has reported 71 confirmed Omicron cases, comprising 65 imported and six local infections.