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Unvaccinated children aged 12 and below allowed to enter Singapore under vaccinated travel lanes: CAAS

02:15 Min
Unvaccinated children aged 12 and below will be allowed to travel into Singapore from countries under the vaccinated travel lane scheme from Oct 19, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Monday (Oct 11). Gwyneth Teo reports.

SINGAPORE: Unvaccinated children aged 12 and below will be allowed to travel into Singapore from countries under the vaccinated travel lane scheme from Oct 19.

Children must be accompanied by another traveller on the scheme, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Monday (Oct 11).

Singapore currently has vaccinated travel lanes with Brunei and Germany. Vaccinated travel lanes with Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the US will open from Oct 19, and with South Korea from Nov 15.

CAAS director-general Han Kok Juan said the move was made following feedback from parents who had suggested allowing children to travel under the vaccinated travel lanes.

"We have considered this suggestion in consultation with the Ministry of Health and decided to allow it to facilitate family travel," he said.

"There is some public health risk, but it can be mitigated with the other safeguards. We urge parents to exercise extra care and caution when travelling with their unvaccinated child."

Like other travellers on the scheme, children travelling via vaccinated travel lanes will not need to serve quarantine, said CAAS.

They will need to undergo pre-departure and on-arrival polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, except for young children aged two years and below.

"Travellers are advised to check the prevailing entry requirements imposed by the countries they are travelling to, including any restrictions on the age of travellers and vaccination status," said CAAS.

The authority noted that Brunei currently does not allow general travel in the country.

It also said that South Korea will allow general travel into the country under the vaccinated travel lane from Nov 15, but this does not include children who do not qualify for vaccination or people who are medically unfit to be vaccinated.

CONDITIONS OF TRAVEL

Explaining the conditions of travel for children under the vaccinated travel lanes, CAAS said children aged 12 years and below will qualify without the need to show proof of vaccination.

This includes children who are Singaporeans, permanent residents, long-term pass holders and short-term visitors.

The age of the child will be based on the calendar year.

"For example, a child born in or after 2009 will be allowed to enter Singapore under the vaccinated travel lane in 2021," said CAAS.

Children must be accompanied by a vaccinated travel lane traveller who meets all of the scheme's requirements for entry into Singapore.

The child will not need to apply for a vaccinated travel pass to travel to Singapore under the scheme.

To safeguard public health, children are required to adhere to all other vaccinated travel lane requirements, said CAAS.

This means having remained in one or more of the vaccinated travel lane countries or Singapore in the last 14 consecutive days prior to leaving for Singapore.

Children must also travel into Singapore on designated vaccinated travel lane flights.

Except for young children aged two years and below, they must obtain negative results on both their COVID-19 PCR tests.

The first is a pre-departure test taken within 48 hours before leaving for Singapore, followed by an on-arrival test at Changi Airport, after which they are to remain self-isolated until their test result is confirmed to be negative.

Children who are transferring in or transiting through Singapore will also be allowed to travel on designated vaccinated travel lane flights.

They must also take a pre-departure PCR test within 48 hours before leaving for Singapore, except for those aged two years and below.

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Source: CNA/dv(zl)

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