Singapore — The European Union’s decision to remove Singapore from its Safe List of countries whose residents can enter for non-essential travel has prompted people here to wonder what had gone wrong, given the Republic’s high vaccination rate.
Singapore was added to the list at the end of August and had stayed on it after the previous assessment last month.
But on Tuesday (Nov 9), when the Council of the European Union updated its list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted, Singapore and Ukraine were removed.
Eyebrows might be just a trifle raised since Argentina was one of the countries just added to the list.
The list is not legally binding on the individual countries, which can and do impose their own conditions and curbs.
“Non-essential travel to the EU from countries or entities not listed in the list is subject to temporary travel restrictions,” the council noted.
Begun in mid-2020 and reviewed every two weeks, the list takes into account recommendations on the gradual lifting of temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU.
Changes to the Safe List also consider the possible risks posed by new Covid-19 variants by setting out an emergency brake mechanism to quickly react to the emergence of a variant of interest or concern, particularly in a third-world country.
“They (amendments and recommendations) cover the epidemiological situation and overall response to Covid-19, as well as the reliability of the available information and data sources,” said the EU.
“Reciprocity should also be taken into account on a case-by-case basis.”
“The authorities of the member states remain responsible for implementing the content of the recommendation,” the council added.
Netizens expressed concern about the announcement, questioning what could have gone awry.
“We are the most highly vaccinated country in Asia by far, with over 95 per cent of eligible adults vaccinated. And we had the strictest mask policy and restrictions for the unvaccinated. What went wrong?” asked Facebook user Jimmy Hor.
Others suggested that the daily number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in Singapore in relation to the country’s small population could be concerning for other countries.
“Well, clearly shows that the infection growth rate is not important to them! The figures and daily numbers succumbing to the virus scared them, even though with high vaccination rate and our small population,” another netizen added. The growth rate compares the local spread of infection from one week to the next.
Others, including Elizabeth Clare Surin, saw it differently: “But the Covid-19 cases in Singapore are in the several thousand daily, with deaths in double digits.”
“For such a tiny country, this is not good — that’s why Singapore was taken off the list. I actually don’t understand why so many cases are coming up and deaths in Singapore. Baffling,” she added.
“This clearly shows that it can’t be a one-sided willingness to open the borders. While we open and don’t control the local cases, other countries will see us as high risk and limit us. In the end, we still suffer. Can’t the MTF (multi-ministry taskforce for Covid-19) see this?” said Facebook user Kilyn Liong.
Travellers have many – perhaps, too many – places to find out the latest correct information. One way may be to check with the airline they plan to use.
For example, travellers on Singapore Airlines who are fully vaccinated can enjoy no-quarantine travel to the UK, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States, while travel from these countries to Singapore has to be on designated vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flights. Flights to Australia have certain specific requirements.
But for now, people who need to travel or simply can’t live without travelling, just need to live with the constant change of rules. Even travel rules between EU countries are still changing regularly, and with infection rates again on the rise in many European countries and another winter surge feared, it takes strong nerves to navigate travel curbs.
Fear of flying ain’t like what it used to be. /TISG
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S’pore netizens on daily COVID-19 deaths — There’s nothing to be happy about