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SINGAPORE, April 2 (The Straits Times / ANN): Singapore Airlines (SIA) flights from Singapore are prohibited from landing in Hong Kong for two weeks.
The move comes after a transit passenger who arrived there on Wednesday (March 31) was confirmed to have Covid-19, while three others on the flight did not meet regulatory requirements to enter Hong Kong.
It also comes just as talks were resuming on restoring a long-delayed air travel bubble between the two cities.
The Hong Kong government said on Friday that the positive case was detected through a sample collected at the airport.
Three passengers on the same flight, SQ882 from Singapore to Hong Kong, also failed to comply with local Covid-19 regulations for inbound travelers.
The Hong Kong Department of Health then invoked the regulations to ban SIA’s daily passenger flight from Singapore to Hong Kong from April 3-16.
No further details about the passengers were provided.
An SIA spokesperson confirmed the flight ban, but noted that passenger services from Hong Kong to Singapore are not affected.
SIA said in an updated statement that it has taken immediate steps to strengthen controls at the point of shipment to ensure that its customers comply with Hong Kong regulatory requirements.
The airline will also assist the Hong Kong health authorities in all contact tracing efforts related to this case.
“Singapore Airlines apologizes to all affected customers. We are reaching out to them to offer all the necessary assistance and minimize the inconvenience caused by this interruption, ”said the spokesperson.
Earlier this week, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said Singapore is studying a proposal from Hong Kong to allow quarantine-free flights.
“We are very pleased that Hong Kong, in recent weeks, has kept the pandemic under good control,” Ong said in a statement on Monday. “This is a very positive development.”
Hong Kong Trade and Economic Development Secretary Edward Yau has proposed vaccinating passengers taking quarantine-free bubble flights between Singapore and Hong Kong.
He said Hong Kong residents participating in travel bubble arrangements would have to receive two doses of vaccine and wait at least 14 days after the second jab before being able to travel on those flights.
Meanwhile, there were 43 new confirmed coronavirus cases as of noon on Friday (April 2), all imported and placed on stay-at-home notices or isolated on arrival.
There were no community cases or infections of migrant workers’ bedrooms. More details will be announced Friday night.
The new cases brought Singapore’s total number of infections to 60,450.
ingapore has had 30 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died from other causes.
Globally, the virus outbreak, which began in December 2019, has infected more than 129 million people. More than 2.82 million people have died. – The Straits Times / ANN
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