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Bloomberg
An air travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong has been delayed as Singapore battles with a rising number of unlinked cases tied to the more aggressive and transmissible coronavirus strain known as B.1.617.
A further announcement should be made on or before June 13, the Hong Kong government said in a statement on Monday. Singapore Minister for Transport S Iswaran said that as Singapore is unable to meet the criteria to start the travel bubble, both sides have agreed to defer the launch. The bubble was due to start from May 26.
Both governments remain committed to the arrangement, “with a view to resuming air travel between the two regional aviation hubs and international cities in a gradual and orderly manner under a set of stringent public health control protocols,†the Hong Kong government said in its statement.
Singapore’s government last week imposed lockdown-like restrictions for a month until June 13 amid a rise in untraceable virus infections.
The biggest number of new cases are linked to a cluster
at Changi Airport, which prompted the closure of two terminals and the Jewel shopping complex for two weeks.
Of the 17 unlinked cases identified on May 16, six patients preliminarily tested positive for the B.1.617 strain, according to Ministry of Health data. Among them, two had
already gotten their first vaccine dose. In all, Singapore reported 38 new cases of Covid-19 infection in the community on May 16, the highest in more than a year.