Insight - Singapore’s reopening in the age of Omicron

People leaving on a bus back to Malaysia as the Vaccinated Travel Lane between Singapore and Malaysia opens after the land border between the two countries reopened following nearly two years of being shut down due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at a bus station in Singapore November 29, 2021.

THIS was no typical start to the work week in Singapore. At a bus depot in the city-state’s northern suburbs, people were lining up to do something extraordinary: make the journey of less than 2km across the water to Malaysia.

Once almost as routine as the commute between New York and New Jersey, the economically vital border saw about 300,000 people cross daily pre-coronavirus.