Singapore Is Welcoming Vaccinated Americans as the U.S. Warns Against Traveling There
Singapore loosened its entry restrictions right as the US moved it to level 4 on its "avoid travel" list.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continuously updates its travel advisory and categorizes countries based on a four-tiered risk system. Earlier this week, it upgraded Singapore from level 3 to level 4 due to its current COVID transmission rate, meaning there are at least 500 cases per 100,000 people.
This update came right when Singapore planned to reopen to Americans. Singapore announced plans to loosen its entry requirements in early October, allowing vaccinated Americans to skip the quarantine process. While technically, you can now enter under Singapore's rules, the US is advising against it.
"Because of the current situation in Singapore, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants," the CDC said in its advisory.
On Tuesday, Singapore officially welcomed US visitors and several other countries to enter via its Vaccinated Travel Lanes. The program requires visitors to have spent 14 days in an approved country, provide proof of a negative PCAR test 48 hours before their departure, and naturally, have received a full dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, be it Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, or Pfizer.
While the US had previously listed Singapore in its level 3, meaning travel was cautioned but not strongly opposed, there has been a sudden spike across the country with more than 3,000 new cases reported each day, according to Reuters.