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SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a television interview that he expected Singapore to begin reopening its borders by the end of the year as more countries step up vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 infections.
Singapore has largely banned leisure travel, but has implemented some official and business travel programs. It is also discussing the mutual recognition of vaccine certificates with other nations.
“I hope that if many countries can have substantial proportions of their populations vaccinated by the end of this year, we can be confident and have developed the systems to open our international borders to travel safely again,” Lee said in a statement. interview with BBC that aired on Sunday (March 14).
“Hopefully, by the end of this year or next, the doors can start to open, if not sooner,” he said.
READ: Australia says working on travel bubble with Singapore
Singapore has controlled its COVID-19 situation with few new local cases and has been implementing its vaccination program, having approved Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
As of March 8, the country has administered just over 611,000 doses of vaccines among a population of 5.7 million, a much slower rate compared to larger nations. But he has said he plans to vaccinate everyone by the end of the year.
Lee said few local cases mean the country could take the time to persuade its population to get vaccinated. Some are hesitant because of the low risk of infection and concern about the possible side effects of rapidly developed vaccines.
Singapore also received the Sinovac Biotech vaccine from China prior to approval. The prime minister said Singapore was evaluating the vaccine and will use it if it passes safety and efficacy standards.
READ: Singapore Receives Its First Shipment of COVID-19 Vaccine from Sinovac
READ: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Sinovac: A look at three key COVID-19 vaccines
“If (the Sinovac vaccine) is approved in terms of safety and efficacy, we will use it. We will use vaccines from any source,” he said.
“Vaccines have no nationality. Is it good or not good? Does it work? If so, we will use it.”
Singapore’s economy posted its worst recession in 2020 due to the pandemic, having been hit the previous year by trade tensions between the United States and China.
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