The Singapore government has denied claims that it could be used as a quaratine gateway for stranded Australians, international students and tourists wishing to enter Australia through Singapore. The country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that they were only in talks with Australia on the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and resumption of travel especially for international students and business travellers.
Earlier, in a move to bring international students back to Australia and revive its international education sector, the government of the country had announced the possibility of creating a two-way travel bubble plan with Singapore. The proposals had also suggested that Australia might establish Singapore as a quarantine gateway, vaccination hub and holiday destination for returning international students, business travellers and Australians.
However, now, the previous claim of making Singapore a quarantine hub has been denied by the country. In a press statement, the ministry spokesperson said that the two countries were not in discussion on any quarantine centre or vaccination hub although they did talk about letting Australian nationals transit via Singapore without quarantining provided they travelled on approved transit routes and followed public health guidelines.
The Sydney Morning Herald had earlier reported that people from the third countries could be able to enter Australia through Singapore after completing a two-week quarantine in the city-state. This would have further helped ease the return of international students to Australian universities, nearly 40,000 Australians stuck overseas and also boost tourism from Singapore to Australia.
The Australian government is hopeful of making New Zealand part of a three-way travel bubble by July/August 2021.
Also Read: Australia Sees Significant Drop in Visa Applications from Indian Students as Borders Remain Shut
Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia earlier said that Australia was going to reopen its borders by October 2020 although there were no guarantees.
The report said that Trade Minister Dan Tehan and Government Services Minister Stuart Robert were leading its policy work and working on making the plan a success. Responding to this, Tehan said that he was in touch with his Singaporean counterpart Chan Chun Sing and that they are very eager to work with Australia on vaccination proof. We agreed to work on the same together.
For the travel bubbles to work, the proposal urges that every country will have to recognise digital vaccine certificates.
Also Read: International Student Hub in NSW Launched
International students have been urging for a safe return to Australia for several months.
Recently, the government of Tasmania criticised the New South Wales governments plan to quarantine returning international students in Tasmania. Dominic Perrottet, NSW Treasurer said that the two governments have had extensive discussions on the same. This proposal would help resuscitate NSWs AUD 14 billion education sector.
These uncertain government announcements have left international students helpless. Remote students have said that the quality of online learning is poor and that they wish to return to campus as soon as possible.
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