What Covid travel restrictions are still in place in Asia?

After a protracted period of time during which border restrictions were in place, a number of locations all around Asia are getting ready to welcome tourists. This means that travelers from Singapore to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Malaysia may finally start making arrangements for their trips.

The most recent repeal of stringent hotel quarantine regulations has made it possible for “zero-Covid” holdouts Taiwan and Hong Kong to finally relax their restrictions on outbound travel just in time for the holiday season.

According to Trip.com, the number of people looking to leave the city increased when Hong Kong made the long-awaited announcement that beginning on September 26, international visitors will no longer be required to undergo quarantine while being confined to their hotel rooms.

According to the travel website, the number of reservations for excursions to the city of Osaka in Japan made by tourists from Hong Kong increased by 7,300 percent compared to the weekend before.

Despite this, several restrictions regarding Covid-19 are still in effect in significant tourist locations located in Asia. If you are thinking of traveling to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, or Taiwan in the next few months, there are a few things that you should be aware of first.

Singapore

After a year of implementing its ‘living with Covid’ plan, Singapore has made it possible for fully immunized travelers and children under the age of 12 to enter the country without being subjected to any pre- or post-arrival testing or being required to go through any sort of quarantine.

In most interior contexts, face masks are not required. The only exceptions to this rule are healthcare institutions, public transportation, and certain aircraft and ferries.

Short-term tourists aged 13 or older who are not vaccinated will also be able to enter the country without the requirement to submit an application for authorization. They will, however, be needed to give a negative test result forty-eight hours prior to their arrival in Singapore, and they will also be forced to purchase travel insurance that covers the entirety of their stay.

In the case that you have not received all of your required vaccinations, you will not be permitted to enter events that will have more than 500 people present.

Downloading the TraceTogether app, which allows visitors to check the status of their vaccinations and complete an electronic health declaration form at least three days in advance of their visit, is another requirement for all guests.

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Malaysia

Because Malaysia prefers to keep things straightforward, the country welcomes visitors of any nationality, regardless of whether or not they have been vaccinated. Also, neither pre-departure or post-arrival Covid-19 testing are required.

In addition, Malaysia does not mandate that visitors utilize the MySejahtera app, which is the country’s contact tracing system.

Thailand

At the point of entry, visitors to Thailand are required to present either their vaccination certificate or, in the case of those who have not had a full course of vaccinations, a negative Covid-19 test result that was obtained during the preceding 72 hours of departure.

Before entering the nation, tourists do not have to fill out an application for the Thailand Pass, which is done through an internet portal. Previously, this was required.

Japan

In the popular tourist destination, wearing masks is no longer required, and entertainment clubs have resumed their operations to the level they were at before the pandemic began, including staying open for extended hours.

Japan will let persons to enter the country and will reinstate visa exemptions for visitors coming from certain nations. In addition to this, it will remove the daily arrival limit, which is presently set at 50,000.

For those who aren’t familiar with the area, traveling to the island country might still be a challenging experience. Only those individuals who have had their third immunization injection are free from the requirement to present documentation of a negative Covid test upon entrance.

Hong Kong

Since the 26th of September, Hong Kong has eliminated one of the most stringent pandemic control regimes in the world by lifting the required hotel quarantine for international arrivals.

Additionally, arriving passengers are required to undergo a PCR test on days 2, 4, and 6 after arrival, in addition to a fast test once a day for the next seven days.