Singapore would work hard to keep its borders open and connected to the rest of the globe even if a new variation of COVID-19 emerges, said Singaporean Transport Minister S. Iswaran on Wednesday.
Iswaran told Bloomberg News that the city-state has learned from its previous experiences dealing with COVID-19 variations.
When the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 struck, Singapore did not abandon its reopening plans, instead opting to wait and see how things unfolded, he said, adding that the response was different from during the Delta outbreak.
“We’ve all learned to adapt,” Iswaran said on the sidelines of the Changi Aviation Summit. “We have more tools in the toolkit. It’s not as if you always only have a hammer. Now I’ve got you know, a wrench and a screwdriver, and all kinds of other things as well.”
“It really comes down to an assessment of the situation and the risk, and then to take a calibrated response,” he added.
Singapore was one of the first Asian countries to reopen its borders, first allowing access to properly vaccinated travellers from chosen countries without quarantine late last year to help boost the country’s aviation and tourism sectors.
Other restrictions have been gradually eased since then, and Changi Airport is now struggling to keep up with demand.
While travel is returning, excitement is being tempered by some hurdles as businesses ramp up operations, according to Iswaran.
According to him, the government is assisting airlines, airport ground handlers, and other businesses in hiring additional employees to satisfy demand.
“This is a challenge of transition,” he said. “We’re working very hard at the system level and with aviation stakeholders individually and collectively, really pulling together. Our overriding objective is to make sure Changi is well prepared for this transition.”
Passenger volume at Changi Airport likely exceed 40% of pre-COVID-19 levels this month, up from less than 20% in March.
The administration anticipates the figure will reach 50% later this year and aims to reopen one of the two terminals that were closed due to the outbreak. Terminals 2 and 4 were closed in June 2020 due to a drop in passenger traffic. Terminals 1 and 3 are operational, however there is no word on when Terminal 4 will reopen.
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