After several months of closing its doors, Singapore and Japan have finally lifted up its travel restrictions to few selected countries including Vietnam on their list.
Starting October, Tokyo, Japan have re-opened its borders for foreign visitors. According to Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, foreign visitors with permits to stay in the country for study and business are now allowed to fly and visit the country.
During a government meeting, Suga said “To revitalize the economy, it is indispensable to resume international travel”. The country has had fewer new cases reported in the past weeks and therefore authorities have easen up the restrictions and border controls within the country. The government has also extended its assistance to the travel industry and other businesses that have been greatly impacted by the pandemic.
Japan will allow foreigners to stay for three months or longer provided they have approved permits. Their reason to travel should fall into the following: medical, cultural and sports reasons.
Any business trips that will last for less than 3 months will also be permitted. The travelers must undergo COVID-19 testing and must have negative results before flying to Japan. They will also have to remain self-isolated after their arrival to the country for 14 days. Along with this, the government is also considering limiting the number of arrivals to 1,000 per day.
Expats and other long staying residents have also been allowed to come from selected Asian countries, Vietnam and Thailand included.
Singapore on the other hand removed its border limits for travelers from Vietnam effective on the 8th of October. This also included Australia however restricting travelers from the state of Victoria. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), both Australia and Vietnam imposed comprehensive public health surveillance systems and have effectively handled the spread of the COVID-19.
The CAAS also added that there is a low risk of importation from these two countries. Vietnam for example had zero reported local cases while Australia with the exception of the state of Victoria had a low virus incident rate of 0.02 cases pero 100,000 people in the last 28 days.
Travelers from Australia and Vietnam will undergo COVID-19 test upon arrival and can proceed with their planned trip after getting a negative result from the test. They must arrange private transportation to their declared accommodation and stay until such time that the results have been confirmed which will be released within 48 hours.
