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Minister Lawrence Wong confirmed on Friday (17 Jul) that “travel for leisure” will be unlikely till the end of 2020.

On the bright side, those who travel for “essential” purposes – business conferences & overseas meetings – will probably be able to do so.

We summarise what else the Covid-19 taskforce has outlined in terms of travel plans till the end of this year below.

‘Avoid all travel’ is still Singapore’s advisory
Based on the unfolding global pandemic, the government’s official stance for travel remains consistent with earlier advisories,

This is in line with research done by the cross-ministry Covid-19 taskforce which understands that though the situation is in flux, the virus is “unlikely to go away” around the world.

Minister Wong added that the timeline we’re looking at is that Covid-19 will remain “even till next year”.

In the short-run, since the global situation is unlikely to improve, Singapore’s travel advisory will stay unchanged, he reasoned.

That’s why we can expect that leisure travel will still not be advised, as it remains ‘non-essential‘.

We’re extra bummed that leisure travel till the end of 2020 seems off the cards for now, as the world continues to combat the coronavirus.

However, with the global case count hitting 14 million with over 600k deaths, it’s definitely prudent to reopen travel in a measured way — to minimise the risks of second or third waves of infections.

Perhaps it’s time to look into a local staycation or BBQ at a chalet instead, to round out an eventful 2020. We’d prioritise only your closest loved ones for the guest list, just to be extra safe.