Singapore and Hong Kong push back their travel bubble again, this time beyond 2020 - CNBC

A closed departure hall at Hong Kong International Airport terminal.

Miguel Candela | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images

SINGAPORE — Singapore and Hong Kong have delayed the start of their bilateral "travel bubble" again — deferring the plan beyond 2020, authorities from both cities said on Tuesday.

The latest postponement followed an earlier decision to push back the launch of the air travel bubble by two weeks, after Hong Kong reported a resurgence in new Covid-19 cases. Inaugural flights under the arrangement — which initially allowed travelers to skip quarantine — was supposed to start on Nov. 22.

"Singapore and Hong Kong have further reviewed the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong, and given that local unlinked cases are still high, both parties have decided to defer the commencement of the Singapore – Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble (ATB) to beyond December 2020," the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement.

Both the Singapore aviation authority and the Hong Kong government said they will review the arrangement again in late December to decide on a new start date.

Since the first postponement of the travel bubble, new Covid-19 infections in Hong Kong have continued to climb. The city reported 76 additional cases on Monday — taking its cumulative infections since the outbreak to 6,315, official data showed.

Meanwhile, Singapore appears to have kept its domestic outbreak under control, reporting mostly imported cases in the last few weeks. Cumulative cases in the city reached 58,218 on Monday, data by its health ministry showed.

The Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble was first announced in October as the two major Asian business hubs sought to repair some of the economic damage that the coronavirus pandemic inflicted on their tourism and aviation industries.

Both cities do not have domestic air travel markets, and their tourism and aviation industries are heavily reliant on international travel. Last year, Hong Kong recorded more than 453,000 visitor arrivals from Singapore, while Singapore received 489,000 visitors from Hong Kong, according to official statistics from both sides.

The bilateral travel bubble won't bring back as many visitors, but Singapore's Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung had hailed the arrangement as a "first of its kind" that could go some way in reinstating international travel.

— CNBC's Karen Gilchrist contributed to this report.

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HK residents urged to stay home amid fears of worst Covid-19 wave; HK-S'pore travel bubble delayed till next year - The Straits Times

HONG KONG - Hong Kong residents have been urged to stay home as the city braces for what could be the worst Covid-19 wave so far while the government announced a further delay of the launch of the travel bubble arrangement between Singapore and Hong Kong.

Speaking at her weekly press conference on Tuesday (Dec 1), Chief Executive Carrie Lam urged people to stay home and avoid unnecessary family gatherings. 

"The next two weeks will be critical so unless necessary, I hope residents can stay at home, especially the elderly. People should avoid social gatherings even if at home."

Mrs Lam noted that a hotline has been set up for the public to report private parties on yachts, and urged people to call the number if they see crowds at the piers so that the coastguards can follow up.

She added that the government is now looking at the possibility of raising the current fine of HK$2,000 (S$346) for individuals who breach social distancing measures.

On the further delay of the air travel bubble arrangement with Singapore, the Hong Kong government said parties "will review the arrangement for 2021 towards late December".

"Travellers who have already made bookings on designated flights during December 2020 may wish to contact their airlines and adjust the itineraries according to their own circumstances," a Hong Kong government spokesman said.

The first flight was originally planned for Nov 22 but both governments announced the delay on Nov 21. The authorities at the time said they would review the situation and decide by early December.

The extension did not come as a surprise as the seven-day moving average of unknown local cases in Hong Kong as at Monday (Nov 30) was 16. The threshold agreed by Singapore and Hong Kong is five cases.

So far, Hong Kong has a total of more than 6,300 cases, including 109 deaths. The number of daily new infections has crossed 70 for more than a week.

This spike was led initially by a growing dance club cluster of more than 500, most of whom are tai-tais and their young dancing instructors.

Professor Ben Cowling, an infectious disease expert from the Hong Kong University, said he expected the fourth wave to begin sooner when measures were relaxed in September as there is always a risk of transmission re-surging if infections are reintroduced.

"I think the priority now has to be to strengthen social distancing measures, taking reference from the measures that were effective in curtailing the second and third waves in March-April and July-August respectively. That includes recommending civil servants to work from home, and closing gyms and other leisure facilities," he said.

In the past week, the government has made a series of orders, from mandating dance club visitors to go for compulsory tests to ordering patrons of specific eateries to go for the tests as the virus circulates.

From Dec 2 for two weeks, dine-in services will end two hours earlier at 10pm, with patrons capped at two per table. Bars, pubs, saunas, clubs, nightclubs and party rooms will remain closed.

All amusement game centres, leisure venues, museums, cinemas, theme parks, karaoke establishments, mahjong clubs and swimming pools must be closed.

Gyms, massage and beauty parlours can stay open but the number of patrons must be capped at two, while civil servants are to work from home and public gatherings limited to two.

The tightening of measures comes as local transmissions, particularly among the city's rich and powerful, have spread like wildfire, initially with some socialites linked directly to the dance club cluster and later, expanded as they continued to mingle over meals and mahjong.

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