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Hong Kong, Singapore 'travel bubble' delayed indefinitely

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/12/02/lam.jpg"/><figcaption>Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a weekly news conference following a rise in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Hong Kong, China December 1, 2020.<em> Joyce Zhou, Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>SINGAPORE - Hong Kong and Singapore on Tuesday indefinitely delayed a &quot;travel bubble&quot; in a new blow to their hard-hit tourism and aviation industries as the Chinese city battles a coronavirus surge.</p><p>The arrangement allowing people to travel between the financial hubs without quarantining had been due to launch on November 22, but was postponed for two weeks as Hong Kong saw a sudden spike in cases. </p><p>The delay was not just a blow to the cities, but also other countries which had been hoping the scheme might be a model to replicate during the pandemic.</p><p>On Tuesday, both cities announced that the bubble would be further deferred to an unspecified date beyond 2020.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/11/28/20/they-beat-back-the-virus-again-and-again-and-again">They beat back the virus (again and again and again)</a></li></ul><p>The decision was taken &quot;in view of the severity of the epidemic situation in Hong Kong with the number of local cases of unknown sources increasing rapidly,&quot; the Hong Kong government said in a statement. </p><p>Singapore is a major market for Hong Kong&#x27;s tourism industry with more than 450,000 arrivals from the city-state recorded in 2019, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.</p><p>Hong Kong was among the top 15 visitor sources for Singapore last year, with nearly half a million arrivals, official data showed.</p><p>Hong Kong on Monday reimposed social distancing measures at some of their strictest levels since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, as daily cases rise sharply. </p><p>Restrictions on public gatherings were tightened with a maximum of two people allowed to meet, down from four, while non-essential civil servants were asked to work from home. </p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WmqkrHOrIW8?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Hong Kong and Singapore on Tuesday indefinitely delayed a "travel bubble" in a new blow to their hard-hit tourism and aviation industries as the Chinese city battles a coronavirus surge.</p>

Hong Kong and Singapore on Tuesday indefinitely delayed a "travel bubble" in a new blow to their hard-hit tourism and aviation industries as the Chinese city battles a coronavirus surge.