COVID-19: Singapore, Japan to launch green lane for essential business and office travel

In a joint statement, the foreign affairs ministries of both the countries said that the Business Track arrangement will help restore connectivity and support economic recovery for Japan and Singapore. The Business Track will allow the safe resumption of cross-border travel and business exchanges with the necessary public health safeguards in place, the statement said.

Singapore and Japan on Friday announced to launch a green lane on September 18 for essential business and official travel for residents from both the countries in compliance with health guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a joint statement, the foreign affairs ministries of both the countries said that the Business Track arrangement will help restore connectivity and support economic recovery for Japan and Singapore.

The Business Track will allow the safe resumption of cross-border travel and business exchanges with the necessary public health safeguards in place, the statement said. These safeguards include pre-departure and post-arrival testing, as well as the need to adhere to a controlled itinerary for the first 14 days in the receiving country, it said. Singapore has similar arrangements with other countries, but this is the first such framework that Japan will implement with another country, local media reports said on Friday.

Meanwhile, Singapore reported 87 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, including 14 imported infections, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said. With this, the national tally of coronavirus cases has reached 57,316.

Among the 73 cases residing in dormitories for foreign workers, 33 are from Avery Lodge Dormitory. The majority of cases had been placed on quarantine earlier and were tested during the period to determine their status, MOH said.

The remaining cases were detected through surveillance testing, such as bi-weekly rostered routine testing. "This allows us to pick up cases in the dormitory early, including asymptomatic ones, so that we are able to ring-fence them quickly to prevent further transmission," it said.

The 14 imported cases have been placed on stay-home notice upon their arrival in Singapore. The two community cases, reported on Thursday, had returned from India on August 24. One was Singaporean and another a foreigner holding work permit.

The six imported cases, reported on Thursday, came from the UAE, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Russia and the Philippines between August 27-31..

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