Travelling has taken a back seat in the past few months. As much as we love to travel again, it's best to set aside our plans and adhere to the travel restrictions around the world for the time being. Planning a leisure trip may be the last thing on our minds, but there's the question about the necessity of essential travel relating to medical, business and government services between countries.

Based on a report by The Straits Times, Singapore's National Development Minister Lawrence Wong is currently discussing a possible travel bubble between Singapore and countries where COVID-19 are under control. Since talks are still underway, the future travel bubble will vary according to different countries as testing protocols have to be done on both ends. "And with these testing protocols in place we can have the assurance that the traveller is free from infection, and then essential travel can then resume, step by step, depending on the countries that we have established these green lanes or travel bubbles with." The recommended testing protocol will include essential travel passengers taking a pre-departure polymerase chain reaction test (or a serology test for passengers previously infected by COVID-19) before departing from Singapore and another test upon arriving in that country.

The discussion was also made with Malaysia, one of the countries that recorded a decreasing number of new COVID-19 cases. As told by the minister to The Straits Times, "For Malaysia, it's also more than just about business travel by air; there's also the issue of workers moving up and down through our land crossing. "Eventually we will have to see how best to accommodate workers who want to travel between both sides in a safe manner. Again, we'll look at putting in place the necessary protocols, whether it's testing of workers, or for that matter, having them subject to some quarantine arrangements when they come in and out."

While discussions are underway for essential travel between both countries, we hope it will extend to leisure travel in the near future! If you're planning to visit Singapore or Malaysia when it's finally safe to do so, here are some articles to inspire your next travel plan.

We Might See A Singapore-Malaysia Travel Bubble In The Future