Singapore adds Australia, Switzerland to quarantine-free travel programme

Tourists wearing protective face masks pose for photos at the Merlion Park in Singapore, January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Feline Lim/Files

Singapore will allow quarantine-free entry to travellers vaccinated against COVID-19 from Australia and Switzerland from Nov. 8, the city-state's aviation regulator said on Tuesday.

Singapore is slowly re-opening its borders and has expanded quarantine-free travel to nearly a dozen countries, including Germany, Canada, France, Britain and the United States, under its Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) programme.

Visitors can travel to Singapore under the programme if they have been fully vaccinated and tested negative in COVID-19 tests.

Tourists visit the Universal Studios in Sentosa, as tourism takes a decline following the coronavirus outbreak in Singapore March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files

Singapore has been reporting more than 3,000 daily infections in recent weeks, although most are asymptomatic or mild. Over 80% of Singapore's 5.45 million population has been vaccinated.

Last week, the United States advised citizens against travel to Singapore and raised its alert for the city-state to its highest risk level. Germany has also classified Singapore as a "high-risk area".

(Reporting by Chen Lin; Editing by James Pearson)