Surge In Virus Cases Grounds HK-Singapore 'bubble'

Hong Kong and Singapore officials agreed on Saturday to delay a so-called travel bubble for at least two weeks – less than 24 hours before the first flights were due to depart.

Hundreds of travellers had already booked to take advantage of the bubble arrangement, which allows people to skip a mandatory two-week quarantine period as long as they test negative for Covid-19 before departure.

However on Saturday, Commerce Secretary Edward Yau confirmed that the two sides had agreed to put the plan on hold, at least until early December, on public health grounds.

"We decided in the interests of making a good start, and also in the interests of avoiding any confusion to passengers," Yau said.

"We will make further announcements, perhaps by early December, on the formal launching of the scheme."

Hours before the announcement, Singapore's tourism authority said that Hong Kong people would have to take an additional Covid-19 test on arrival at the city state's Changi Airport.

Under the arrangements for the bubble, it would automatically be suspended for a fortnight if either side reported an average of five or more local transmissions per day with no clear source over the course of the week.

Hong Kong came close to that figure after reporting 13 unlinked cases out of a total of 36 local transmissions on Saturday. Health officials reported a further 60 preliminary positive cases, indicating that the average was likely to rise past five on Sunday.