Travel to Malaysia and Singapore: International restrictions eased as part of ‘living with Covid’ strategy
(CNN) Singapore and Malaysia have each revealed plans to begin reopening their borders as the two Southeast Asian neighbors move from a zero-Covid strategy to living with the virus.
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Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Sunday that the country will lift domestic and international travel restrictions for fully vaccinated residents starting Monday after reaching a goal of fully vaccinating 90% of its adult population .
A day earlier, Singapore added eight new countries to its vaccination and quarantine-free travel lanes – the most significant easing of travel restrictions since borders were closed last March.
Both Singapore and Malaysia battled catastrophic surges in Covid-19 cases earlier this year, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant. Both countries have pursued aggressive zero-coronavirus policies by imposing strict lockdowns and closing borders.
The move comes as governments across the region, including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, look to revive their economies through tourism and the reopening of local businesses. Singapore and Malaysia are transitioning to treating the virus as endemic by trying to contain the outbreak with a vaccine rather than restricting citizens’ lives — despite continuing to see active community cases and deaths.
The plans also mirror the “living with Covid” approach seen in many Western countries, including the UK and parts of the US, where daily life has largely returned to normal.
Malaysia
Cases in Malaysia began to surge in early 2021, prompting the government to reimpose lockdown restrictions lifted in December. Then in June, it felt the sharp edge of the deadly Delta variant.
Despite a nationwide lockdown, at its peak in August, the country was reporting hundreds of thousands of cases a day.
Citizens were forced to endure more restrictions on their freedoms, and their discontent grew, with protests erupting in July over the government’s handling of the virus.
Under lockdown restrictions, millions of people have been told to stay at home as much as possible and domestic travel banned. Schools were closed and gatherings banned. The following month, Malaysia’s then prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, resigned, partly because of a surge in public anger.
Prime Minister Jacob’s announcement on Sunday marked a major shift from Malaysia’s previous strategy – largely because of a highly effective vaccination campaign. About eight months after the mass rollout, more than 66 percent of the country’s 32 million people have been vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
“We have to train ourselves to live with Covid because Covid may not be completely eradicated,” Yaakob told a news conference on Sunday, adding that Malaysia would not impose another mass lockdown if cases increased.
The easing of restrictions means fully vaccinated Malaysians can travel abroad without applying for permission from immigration authorities. Previously, travel was restricted mainly for business, official or emergency reasons. Domestic travel will also be allowed, ending a travel ban on 13 states in Malaysia.
Malaysia reopened Langkawi — a group of 99 islands and a major holiday destination — to domestic tourists on Sept. 16, following strict protocols. The country remains closed to international tourists for now and is considering a fuller reopening.
Measures are also being eased as daily workloads continue to fall after rising sharply from June to August.
Singapore
Singapore continues to stick to its strategy of living with the virus, despite recent reports of record daily Covid-19 cases and a surge in deaths from an outbreak of the delta variant.
The island city-state of 5.45 million people reported a record daily 3,703 cases and 11 deaths on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. On the same day, Singapore decided to move forward with its plan to start the Vaccination Travel Lane (VTL) for quarantine exemptions scheduled to start on October 19, announcing the addition of eight Western countries, including the US and the UK.
Under the new rules, travelers from a total of 11 countries can enter Singapore without quarantine – according to Transport Minister S. Iswaran, as part of his “rebuild and rebuild” campaign.
Singapore is home to the Asian headquarters of many multinational corporations whose executives depend on easy access to and from the country – one of the world’s largest tourism and financial hubs.
Addressing the nation, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore cannot be “locked down and shut down indefinitely”, adding that job losses, family separations and business closures had caused “mental and emotional strain and mental fatigue”.
But while Singapore has said it hopes to transition to the popular Covid model in May, the recent surge in the Delta variant has put those plans at risk.
On October 1, Singapore reimposed some local restrictions to stem the spread. According to Reuters, the stricter measures include limiting social gatherings to two people and suspending or transferring online classes for students aged 12 and under – a move to the dismay of Singaporeans.
In speeches on Saturday, Lee said it would take “at least three months, maybe as long as six months” to go unrestricted, and hinted that a lockdown could be imposed in the future if cases started to rise – unlike Malaysia.
“After this surge stabilizes, we may still see future surges, especially if new variants emerge,” Li said. “If cases grow too fast again, we may have to hit the brakes again to protect our healthcare system and healthcare workers.”
Singapore has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with more than 80% of the population fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Asia Pacific reopens
Singapore’s decision to go ahead with VTL comes as other countries in the Asia-Pacific region are starting to co-exist with Covid.
Thailand plans to reopen its capital Bangkok and other major destinations to foreign tourists by November in a bid to revive its flagging tourism industry, which accounted for more than 11 percent of the country’s GDP in 2019, Reuters reported.
Vietnam’s government said on Wednesday it plans to reopen major tourist destinations from December to vaccinated tourists from countries deemed to be at low risk of Covid-19, Reuters reported on Wednesday, ahead of a full recovery next June.
Meanwhile, Indonesia has allowed public spaces to reopen and factories to resume full production. Tourists from countries including China, New Zealand and Japan will be allowed to enter the resort island of Bali until Oct. 14, Reuters reported, citing government officials. However, travelers must self-isolate for eight days at their own expense.
On Monday, Sydney lifted the strict lockdown imposed in June to contain the Delta outbreak. Fully vaccinated Sydneysiders – about 70 per cent of the city’s adults – can now return to restaurants, pubs and gyms, while many family members can reunite after months of separation.