Vaccinated Singaporeans may soon be able to travel abroad: Lawrence Wong

Elderly Singaporeans are also urged to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Singaporeans may soon be allowed to travel abroad and return to Singapore with more relaxed measures according to Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.

“We are working on some new guidelines for people in Singapore to be able to travel abroad. And then when you come back, you either can serve a shorter quarantine time and the stay-home-notice will be shorter, or may be waived entirely, and replaced with some tests, and this will depend on the country that you visit. So these are the potentially revised guidelines that could apply to vaccinated persons. We are still working through them, and we will announce them when we are ready,” Wong said.

Within Singapore itself, Wong said larger gatherings and a more relaxed social distancing rule for vaccinated individuals may soon be allowed.

Meanwhile, Wong said that the move to the next stage of reopening, specifically to move from two persons to five persons for higher risk settings like F&B dining-in, is on track.

“With the vaccine on track, with the regular testing of workers in these higher risk settings proceeding, we should be able to get there. Exactly when this will be, we will work out the dates and we will give some advance notice, but this is something we should be able to proceed on,” Wong said.

The minister also urged the elderly to get vaccinated, saying the government wants to avoid another super spreader event like Bukit Merah which mainly infected the elderly.

“We have simplified the process for you to get vaccinated. You don't need to book in advance. Just walk into a centre, and you can get yourself jabbed. And this call also goes out to everyone who has an elderly parent. If you have an elderly parent who is not vaccinated yet, please engage them, persuade them to get vaccinated, bring them to the centre to get them jabbed. You will be doing a lot to keep them safe,” Wong said.